New advisory council to steer police reform as crime and corruption claims mount

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has unveiled a new advisory council expected to play a central role in overhauling South Africa’s policing system and restoring public confidence in law enforcement.

It comes amid high crime rates and damning revelations from the Madlanga Commission, Faizel Patel reported for The Citizen.

The National Police Advisory Council, which was recommended in the 2012 National Development Plan, will provide strategic and policy advice to the minister of police and the national commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

It has 14 members drawn from law, finance, law enforcement, academia and business. Cachalia’s spokesperson, Kamogelo Mogotsi, said the minister welcomed the council’s inaugural workshop, which is meant to formally constitute the body, orient members on its mandate and familiarise them with the Police Reset Agenda, among other priorities.

Addressing members, Cachalia stressed the urgency of reform. He said the commission’s work had cast a light on the darker side of policing and society, deepening the trust deficit between police and the communities they serve and undermining public confidence.

The police service belonged to the people of South Africa, he said, and citizens had a legitimate expectation that it would serve and protect them.

He described the Reset Agenda as a programme of reform aimed at reshaping the SAPS so that it delivers on its constitutional mandate, upholds the rule of law and restores public trust.

It includes filling critical vacant posts, improving supply chain management, strengthening vehicle management and tackling infrastructure problems by building new police stations and maintaining and upgrading existing ones.

Cachalia said he looked forward to the council helping to turn the agenda into meaningful and measurable improvements in policing and safer communities.

The commission, headed by retired justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, is investigating allegations of corruption and the infiltration of South Africa’s criminal justice system by criminal syndicates.