Information management vital in the fight against crime, says Minister Cele

by Igalelo Reporter

Information management plays a major role in fighting crime and it is important that government, communities and the private sector work side by side to deal with it effectively, KZN Transport, Safety and Security Minister Bheki Cele told community members and the police at the Merebank Christian Center in Durban recently.

Speaking at a function organized by the Merewent Police Forum which received a R15 000 worth of computer equipment from Engene, Minister Cele said the equipment will help the forum to be better able to coordinate and manage information about criminal activity in Merebank and Wentworth respectively.

Mr Cele said in every robbery involving a cash-in-transit vehicle there was money in that vehicle and whether successfully carried out or not, there has never been any reported case of the vehicle without money because the criminals are well-informed.

"We need that information about criminal activity, where the criminals are and what they are doing – the availability of reliable and credible information accounts for fifty percent of the success of every case involving a crime investigation," he said.

In an indirect reference to the synergy that he represents as minister of transport, safety and security, Mr Cele pointed out that proper information management could be epitomized by traffic officers who – given the available technology - should be able to identify a wanted criminal and asked for the SAPS to lock him or her up when encountered as offending drivers on the road.

The minister said the success of police forums and the SAPS depended on effective communication. To that effect, Engene has enabled the Merewent Community Policing Forum to enjoy equipment that will make it easy for the community forum to produce minutes, agenda, and monthly newsletters from the Wentworth Police Station currently being extended in order to house the forum offices. The extension costs R5 million.

Mr Cele explained: "Nobody but our selves – the time to do it ourselves is now – no one is responsible for your life. It’s about: ‘What do I do?’ As opposed to: ‘What can you do for me?’ It takes a lot to achieve harmony, but just one to five people to keep the whole community running and having female children locked up at home early because of fear, fearing that they might be raped.

"Today we are not asking: ‘Where are the police?’ But: ‘Where are the community members?’ If you buy stolen property you are encouraging crime - you cannot then complain about crime. There are families who do not know a furniture shop. Thieves steal because they know there is a market for them," he added.

Mr Cele said it was quite common for local criminals to become idols and earn respect and even emulated.

"They get the best girls, and drive the best cars. Women also encourage crime because the criminals need to buy groceries and precious stones for their girlfriends and wives," he observed.

"Mothers complain whilst their own children do the deeds - they come in good cars and mothers are happy to be driven to church in them and tell their sons to park the stolen vehicle on the other side of the house so that no one will see. Each of us must go and fight his or her crime in our homes. There is no crime in the street, it has a base – let’s fight it where it lives," he said.

"Wives and girlfriends are also unsafe in their own houses: children and women abuse is rampant and these acts of abuse are often carried out by drunks and edicts. And you hear the woman says: ‘He takes good care of me after beating me up.’

"We should lock up those women who withdraw cases because they are encouraging their wild animals to go on the rampage even more. ‘What are we going to eat if your father chases us out of here?’ some women have been heard saying when children protesting living with a maniac. We learn to live with it, romance it, hide it…"

Minister Cele saluted his 21 000-strong KZN police force which had over 16 000 functional personnel serving society in the province.

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