SA must use modern tech to turn the tide on crime — Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa should aim to be like Hangzhou state,  one of the safest places in China.

Ramaphosa was speaking on Tuesday at the policing summit in Ekurhuleni which aims to enhance the efficiency of the SAPS via modern policing solutions.

He said for the country to reach the level of safety like Hangzhou, crime fighting should be proactive, innovative and solutions-orientated in its approach. “We need to harness modern technologies to support crime-fighting,” he said.

“We therefore welcome the focus of this summit on exploring the role of technology in modern policing, investigation and intelligence. Technology is particularly crucial when analysing crime trends and patterns. To turn the tide against crime, we need better collaboration among the different agencies in the law-enforcement space.”

According to Ramaphosa, the policing terrain today is complex and multifaceted. He said police strive to fulfil their mandate in the context of emerging threats, including transnational organised crime, illegal mining, extortion syndicates, the theft of economic infrastructure, money laundering and terror financing.

“And yet, even in this extremely challenging environment, the SAPS  continues to register successes in fighting crime in its various operations,” he said. “To build on these successes, we need to restore public trust and faith in the police. We need to improve the relationships between the police and the communities they serve. We need to work to improve the morale of SAPS members, many of whom are battling heavy workloads, insufficient resources and outdated systems.

“Even as the SAPS budget has increased over the past 10 years, the reality is that the number of police personnel has been declining, while the country’s population has been growing. The resources of the police are stretched extremely thin. This means we must work better and smarter by using existing resources more effectively. Stakeholders and experts will focus on enhancing the efficiency of the SAPS, via modern policing solutions.

“If the SAPS is to fulfil its crucial mandate, we have to emerge from these few days with a clear plan on how to address the systemic deficiencies that are negatively impacting policing. As a country, we owe the SAPS our full support.”

SowetanLIVE