I know we have alot of thread with rosie pictures of South Africa but there is another issue that must not be ignored and that is the crime in SA. I want you guys to post news on how the visitors will be safe ahead of the 2010 Fifa WC and how SA can become an even better country with top class security like the Western World. This is not meant to be a negative thread but the level of crime in SA is very high and has the join Colombia as the murder capital of the World.

South Africa: Robbers Kill Nigerian Toddler in South Africa


This Day (Lagos)

April 14, 2007
Posted to the web April 14, 2007

Lagos

A holiday trip to South Africa by a Nigerian woman and her daughter ended in tragedy when armed robbers shot dead her two-year-old daughter in Johannesburg on Thursday. Nkechi Obiekwe and baby Tsahai were sleeping at their guest house when two armed robbers opened the door to her bedroom and demanded her laptop, cellphone and money. She added that she was frightened and gave the robbers her money.

"Then I turned around looking for a cellphone. A gunshot went off. I never thought they were killing my baby. When I turned to hand them the cellphone, I saw blood. I ran to Tsahai. She was struggling to breathe. She had been fast asleep when the robbers shot her in the head," Obiekwe told said.


She said that the robbers came back and demanded for more money. "I said you have already killed my baby why do you want my money." Police arrived at the scene about 40 minutes later. Obiekwe, who works for the Nigerian Communications Commission, arrived in South Africa on Tuesday and planned to return to Nigeria on Sunday


She said before Tsahai was born she had tried for 11 years to get pregnant, and had to seek for medical help. "It took me so many years to conceive my baby, my only child. She was all I had,",Obiekwe said in tears.

"South Africa is not safe at all. What can a baby do to stop a robbery in progress," said Emeka Arum, one of the shocked Nigerians who came to sympathise with Obiekwe.

Johannesburg police spokesperson Eugene Opperman said the robbers had forced open a window and climbed through burglar bars adding that investigation has begun into the incident.

Over a cellphone, laptop and some few cash????? this is ridiculous.....and ignorant. Security shouldnt be top notch just for the world cup but for years and years to come.

My brother , I think your in the wrong place.
I know your not trying to be negative however.....

This is a haven for people who want positive news on South Africa....

You are obviously very proud to be living in America now, not even sure if your South African.... Well the people here are very proud to be South African and we like to focus on positive news..... There are so many other sites out there and this thread you started has been done to death.....
If you want to discuss crime i suggest you join one of those sites...

This site is like a breath of fresh air, lets keep it that way !




cya in Texas boet....

My brother , I think your in the wrong place.
I know your not trying to be negative however.....

This is a haven for people who want positive news on South Africa....

You are obviously very proud to be living in America now, not even sure if your South African.... Well the people here are very proud to be South African and we like to focus on positive news..... There are so many other sites out there and this thread you started has been done to death.....
If you want to discuss crime i suggest you join one of those sites...

This site is like a breath of fresh air, lets keep it that way !




cya in Texas boet....

Great to see that you are still here posting messages. I wish more YouTube sane South Africans would come over to this site.

My brother , I think your in the wrong place.
I know your not trying to be negative however.....

This is a haven for people who want positive news on South Africa....

You are obviously very proud to be living in America now, not even sure if your South African.... Well the people here are very proud to be South African and we like to focus on positive news..... There are so many other sites out there and this thread you started has been done to death.....
If you want to discuss crime i suggest you join one of those sites...

This site is like a breath of fresh air, lets keep it that way !




cya in Texas boet....

This is not a negative thread.....this is a thread about security in south africa for the World Cup. Post news about the security for the world cup just like u post news about the stadiums.

More better suited for the Shabeen, Thryve, if you can do the honor's please

Any thread like this will be stooped in controversy. Chat away if you must, but what will the goal of such a discussion be?

wow so you pick a story from the most dangerous city in the country. So if I look at news from Detroit or LA I wont find any such stories about your country?!!!

Im not saying there is no crime here or that Im not really annoyed by the crime but I suggest you read the Financial Mail on April 6th for a very good article about how we can get on top of crime and how in some areas the tide is being turned.

In it together



By Peter Honey

With little political leadership, a spontaneous revolution in policing and security is burgeoning. It is already having dramatic effects in specific areas. We assess the lessons for the rest of SA.



The drug merchant, scruffy and cocky with the brashness of youth, crossed the street and had almost reached the idling car when he spotted the two uniformed policemen in the back seat. His expression turned from expectation to shock and he veered away and scurried out of sight around the corner, where his buddies had long since melted away.


The man in the driver's seat gave a grim chuckle. "Must be a new boy; everybody else knows this car. They wouldn't try selling to me."


The speaker was Raymond Mthenjwa, senior prosecutor in the Randburg magistrate's court. It was a mild autumn evening in Windsor East, a small suburb crammed with low-rise flats in northwestern Johannesburg.


LINKED DOCUMENTS - Click on each title for document

The Social Economy of organized Crime

Targeting Organised Crime - A Systems Approach

Trends in Shopping Centre Violent Incidents - January 2007



Because many of the suburb's 305 tenement blocks are for rent only, they have attracted thousands of foreign migrants, many of them desperate illegal Zimbabweans and Nigerians running the hard-drug rackets. There is a fair smattering of SA dagga dealers, too, lounging about the side streets and the central shopping area, which exudes the seedy Afropolitanism of a mini-Hillbrow.


Mthenjwa and his police colleagues had driven here to show a visitor the locale of a rather special anti crime initiative they are running for the national prosecuting authority (NPA) - one of nine pilots in a countrywide experiment in what is called "community prosecuting". It has been carried out for several years, with some success, in the US and parts of Europe.


The principle is ingenious, as crime analyst Martin Schönteich explains: prosecutors have a unique perspective on crime, since they represent the only part of the criminal justice system that makes contact with every other part. By engaging with the communities they serve, prosecutors are well placed to advise police and community activists on how to investigate and build winnable cases, and at the same time learn what the communities' priorities are, who the key criminals are and what cases to fast-track through the courts.


"The whole idea is for prosecutors to engage and communicate more broadly with communities," says KwaZulu Natal prosecutions director Shamila Batohi, national co-ordinator of the community prosecuting project.


CLICK ON GRAPHIC FOR ENLARGEMENT

The Windsor East pilot is one of the most successful. It started in April 2006 and is scheduled for completion in November this year, after which it will probably expand to neighbouring suburbs and eventually other priority crime areas of Johannesburg.


The pilot's results so far are promising. Mthenjwa says nearly 2 000 illegals have been deported from this small, 4 km² neighbourhood in the past 10 months; community pressure has intensified on errant flat owners, and on landlords to convert their complexes to sectional title ownership and evict squatters; problem tenements are being auctioned under threat of asset forfeiture for refusal; and in February police conducted the first intelligence-driven arrests of drug dealers, including important distributors. The cases are already enrolled for trial.


However, the deportation issue is problematic from both a human rights and a practical perspective : many deportees are Zimbabweans fleeing a broken economy and many, if not most, are back in SA within days. But Windsor East community activists say many return to Windsor only to collect their goods and move elsewhere.


"When we started back in 2000, Windsor was completely over run with migrants and drug dealers," says Windsor Action Group representative Annetjie Grimsdell. "We used to have upwards of 20-27 burglaries a month. Now we might have three or four. We had 118 flat blocks that needed constant police raiding ; now we're down to 13, and two of those are being sold this month."


Partnership is the vital ingredient, says Mthenjwa. "When I got here I was careful not to try to take ownership of the initiatives that were already under way.


"I just linked with the community groups, and together we listed our priorities - drug dealing, illegals, armed robberies and noise from taverns and pubs in the district. Then we asked the police to take charge of other crime prevention strategies."


The project has also formed linkages with other state and municipal departments - immigration, welfare, health and the police organised crime unit. Several of these join up with the Linden police on raids into Windsor, with community groups and beat cops who are able to provide extensive intelligence on drug merchants and complicit traders.


Anyone who still thinks of Alexandra as it was in the late 1980s would be astonished to see it now.


Alexandra was the fetid slum on the edge of Sandton where outsiders, policemen especially, feared to tread; scene of the 1986 "six-day war", when township militia exchanged gunfire with paramilitary police and stone-wielding youths burned tyre-barricades in the rutted, sewage-streaked streets and dug trenches to trap the wheels of police Casspirs.


After apartheid, it was left to the robbers, murderers and other violent misfits to plunder and use as a hideout for hijacked cars, scrap dealer chop-shops and other stolen booty.


Nobody would pretend that the overcrowded, vibey, gritty Alex of today doesn't still qualify as a slum, even though its streets are tarred. But, last month, for the third year running, Alex police station emerged as Johannesburg's best performer - top of the city's 21 stations in policing yardsticks such as crime reduction, management and investigation.


The murder rate has dropped from six or seven cases in a weekend to fewer than six a month; some weekends there are none at all. The once notorious London Road, which used to register 30-40 hijackings a month, now has two or three, and there are no more vehicle chop shops. Domestic assault, though, remains a central, malignant theme, largely due to the overcrowding - an estimated 550 000 people in an area of less than 10 km².


Station commissioner Theko Pharasi won't give crime statistics - the FM got them elsewhere, because he's restrained by national headquarters' muzzle on stats - but he does say that virtually all crimes have dropped over the three years he has been there.


The achievement is overwhelmingly due to Alex's well-oiled police-community partnerships. That has been difficult to achieve because of the township's social complexity. Refer to the detailed scheme of the Alexandra Social Crime Prevention Partnership Policing. Click here for the document.


It's safe to say that there is virtually no social activity in Alex - whether business, tavern, school or hostel, to name a few - that isn't touched in some way by the community policing initiative.


When alcohol-related crimes start ticking up, the taverners' forum steps in and gets shebeens to close earlier for a few nights; the religious forum arranges regular "cops 'n priests" prayer meetings; each of the township's 22 schools has an adopt-a-cop project and attends the school policing forum to address issues such as teenage pregnancy, drug abuse and truancy.


When the FM visited the Alex police station last Friday - the old station on the edge of town has shut down and moved to a large, brick complex adjacent to the central taxi rank - the atmosphere was festive. Schoolchildren were singing and performing back-to-school plays, a four-piece band kept up the entertainment and community volunteers were handing out food parcels. It was Alex's link-up with the simultaneous launch in Soweto of Gauteng's new community-police partnership campaign, a brainchild of community safety MEC Firoz Cachalia.


Aside from the community partnerships, swift response is essential to Alex's policing success. The station's crime office runs around the clock and every crime reported must receive immediate attention from whoever is on duty, says crime prevention head superintendent Tobie Terblanche. "We all work as a team - there is no waiting for the detectives or anyone else to come on duty before we respond," he says. "It must be as soon as possible."


Swift response can be difficult, since many houses aren't numbered, and the shantytown is a warren of tunnels and unidentified structures.


Social crimes - mainly domestic violence and assaults - are Alex's biggest bugbear and probably the most difficult to address from a purely policing perspective, since they require other state interventions too, for example from the welfare, education and health departments.


But Pharasi says the police can at least try to use their extensive community networks to ease tensions in backyard settlements, which may accommodate upwards of 20 people.


From a policing perspective, crime control is divided into six sectors, with residential areas patrolled day and night by police, residents or reservists. As a result, community crime reporting runs high.


"If somebody sees something strange or they notice an unidentified car parked in their yard (which could be a stolen or hijacked car being cooled off'), chances are they'll call us or tell the patrols," says Terblanche.


Patrol groups meet weekly to strategise and exchange information.


One sector contains the town's hostels, which are occupied almost exclusively by Zulu migrants. It has always been a politically sensitive zone and as a result this sector is not patrolled, but police maintain social discipline through contact with the indunas.


The police reserve provides not only extra manpower to the police, but a small income for the unemployed.


In addition, an extensive network of business donors and professional volunteers helps run several projects in and around the station, including the colourful victim support centre mostly for abused children. Centre co-ordinator Elizabeth Mokoena says Vodacom, Investec and Johncom are major sponsors, while civil society groups such as Adapt and Women & Men Against Child Abuse provide access to a doctor and two social workers. At least eight children receive counselling and therapy every day.


For all the good news, though, it would be foolish to regard Alex as an island apart from the high-crime environment around it. "Crime is like a balloon; you squeeze it and it moves to another area," says Alex community police forum chairman Thomas Sithole.


That's why police stations are now organised in clusters. Alex forms part of the cluster with neighbouring Bramley and Sandringham police precincts, which meets monthly to exchange information.


With the dissolution of the central police sexual offences unit, Alex police station has inherited its own sexual offences unit, with a commanding officer and four detectives, which Terblanche says has significantly improved the station's success rate. And if Bramley or Sandringham require specialist policing for a sexual offence, Alex's team is available.


If all this sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But there is no disputing that the police in Alexandra have gained the community's trust, and more importantly, its active participation in the battle against crime.


Cachalia's project to extend the lessons of Alex and Windsor East into community policing in the rest of the province, however, may not get the political backing it needs. The Take Charge project was launched in a symbolic, non partisan, populist ceremony at Kliptown, Soweto, last Friday. It emphasises continuous community mobilisation and policing partnerships across a broad provincial front and is precisely the kind of enterprise that national government should be projecting across the country.


But, in the absence of concerted energy by national leaders, projects like Take Charge will struggle for traction. Deputy safety & security minister Susan Shabangu, an invited dignitary, was the only national cabinet attendee at the Kliptown launch. National police commissioner Jackie Selebi was notable for his absence.


That speaks of a systemic problem in the battle against crime - it is being driven more by community leaders, on-the-ground prosecutors, provincial safety & security structures and local police. That is partly why the critical factor in successful crime-fighting initiatives has been an active community.


But what if the community itself is riven by factionalism?


Consider the case of Hout Bay.


It took the murder of a visiting cyclist to turn Hout Bay into one of the best-organised police-community partnerships in the country.


Housebreaking and robbery were, and still are, the worst crime problems of the town. Housebreaking was running at 20-25 a week at the time of the murder. Now the number is down to a quarter or a third of that.


The main secret of the success is swift community and police response to crime calls and routine neighbourhood patrols. The programme stems from strong, focused leadership, good organisation and close co-operation between volunteer networks, police and the two main private security companies.


Adding immediacy to the project is a walkie-talkie network linked to a full-time, staffed operations room that complements the regular police and security patrol networks.


It all started with the stabbing to death of Gerhard Vergeer, an Mpumalanga cyclist who had come to ride the Argus Pick 'n Pay cycle tour. In the early hours of race day in March 2005, Vergeer surprised two burglars, who turned into his killers.


Into the public outrage that followed stepped Capt Gerhard van den Bergh, recently appointed crime prevention police chief of Hout Bay, with a plan: neighbourhood watch.


"There was negativity everywhere; everybody was blaming everybody else. But all they needed was a plan," recalls Van den Bergh.


Complicating the resentment was racial tension, built on the belief by many in Hout Bay's white community that the main source of the crime was Imizamo Yethu, the mostly impoverished black settlement of 20 000 mushrooming in the middle of the community, and the nearby coloured township of Hangberg.


But if violent crime was bad in white Hout Bay, it was several times worse in Imizamo Yethu and Hangberg, with murder, assault, rape and other liquor-related crimes the order of the day. Those communities, too, needed help.


"One of the cleverest things [Hout Bay] did was to embrace the black and coloured communities," says former Hout Bay resident Mike McCarthy. He has since moved across the mountain to Kalk Bay, where he and other community members are having a hard time motivating the local police station commander to help start a neighbourhood watch.


After securing the Hout Bay community's buy-in, Van den Bergh divided the community into 28 sectors, each with a volunteer sector leader. Imizamo Yethu created 12 sectors.


"Each sector decides what its priorities are, what it needs and how it should patrol," the police captain says. "My only duty as the police co-ordinator is to ensure the watch system doesn't go too far; [neighbourhood watches] are only the eyes and ears of the community; it's not a vigilante movement."


The two security companies also joined into the spirit of the project, one donating a laptop computer for co-ordination and the other the radio control room.


It's not a cheap system: the walkie-talkie radios cost about R1 600 each and the control room, accredited by telecom regulator Icasa, takes about R25 000 a month to maintain.


The biggest challenge for any volunteer programme is to maintain momentum. Even successful community policing operations sometimes run out of steam because people feel they no longer need to keep up the pressure.


"People get comfortable," says Van den Bergh. "But this thing is not a short-term solution; it's a way of life."


To maintain community interest, network leaders produce weekly crime reports. Van den Bergh says he provides only the information relevant to the watch system: housebreaking, robberies and thefts from motor vehicles. Murders, assaults and other social crimes are police-only business.


Another good spin-off from the neighbourhood watch system is that it frees the police to focus on other forms of crime, notably drug dealing, smuggling and crimes linked to shebeen and nightclub operations. As a result, Hout Bay police have been able to bring down the rate of assault and rapes.


Hout Bay's success has not gone unnoticed, especially in nearby communities such as Constantia, Observatory and Fish Hoek, which have absorbed some of Hout Bay's displaced crime and are now looking to start their own neighbourhood watches.


For some, the peculiarities of their crime problems may require different solutions. But the essential ingredients - leadership and cohesion - stay the same.


"Anything can be changed with the right attitude," says Van den Bergh. "When we started, I thought we had too many cultural differences in Hout Bay; it would not work. I was wrong; it does."


Hout Bay, Alexandra and Windsor East show the importance of community involvement, even though each area has discovered a unique response to crime that works for it. The tougher nut to crack is organised crime - the planned attacks seen in cash-in-transit heists and robberies at shopping centres. But even in such cases, unique solutions are being worked out. Here, too, communities are a critical ingredient.


Shopping centres have become fertile ground for armed robbers. Not only are their shops and restaurants robbery targets, but the crowded centres themselves enable robbers to pick out likely victims for attack after they leave - leading in some instances to home robberies.


Nearly one-third of the 56 violent crime incidents recorded at or linked to shopping centres in January were robberies of people who had left the centres, according to research by the joint shopping centre security initiative co-ordinated by Business Against Crime (BAC).

To see the full report click on:

Trends in Shopping Centre Violent Incidents - January 2007.
But now a focused security initiative has been launched to deal with the problem. It is being co-ordinated by crime analyst Jenni Irish-Qhobosheane on behalf of the SA Council of Shopping Centres, the SA Property Owners Association and the Consumer Goods Council of SA - and is part of a broader programme by BAC to broaden the range of commercial anticrime operations.


Gauteng centres recorded 52% of the robberies, with KwaZulu Natal (18%) and the Western Cape (12%) the next most robbery-prone.


The security initiative is based on the successful strategy of the SA Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric), which cut bank robberies from over 260 a year in the early 2000s to under 50 last year. The banks did so by making it more difficult to rob banks and reducing the amount of cash available - thus raising the risk and lowering the reward.


But as bank robberies declined, robbers turned their attention to the more vulnerable cash movements between businesses and banks, shopping centres and petrol stations and, most recently, ATM machines. More than 80 ATMs have been blasted with explosives this year alone - more than the previous two years combined.


"Many of the retailers, particularly clothing stores, where margins are tight, feel that they shouldn't carry the costs, especially since they're insured against theft and robbery anyway. But they need to realise they have a responsibility to the community," says a security officer involved in the supermarket initiative, who does not want to be named.


"When we wanted to do an anti-shoplifting project at Cresta [a large centre in north western Johannesburg] they told us we would make the shoppers nervous," two policemen at the Linden police station told the FM.


They also said Cresta restaurants didn't want police around because most were employing illegal Zimbabwean migrants. "If we did a sweep [for illegals] there, the restaurants wouldn't have any waiters," they say.


The shopping centre security initiative has four key objectives. These are to:



Improve the physical security of the centres;


Beef up cash management practices;


Enhance co-operation between centres and the criminal justice system; and


Upgrade crime prevention technology and methods.

The initiative has begun compiling a best practice manual for shopping centres, tailoring initiatives to suit individual centre needs and profiles, since large malls have quite different security profiles from smaller neighbourhood centres.


Similar efforts are under way in other business sectors. For instance, the cash-in-transit (CIT) industry has already compiled a doctrine for a charter of minimum standards to improve the security of cash movements.


But many shopping centre owners are still unwilling to design quality risk-control measures into their centres, even in new developments, says Gert Potgieter, property risk control specialist of Pretoria-based MHD Management Services. "I was told flatly by the executive of a big property development company that security was a police responsibility," he says.


Irish-Qhobosheane says that as much as shopping centres are points of attack for criminals, they can be turned around to fight the criminals.


"This is not just a policing responsibility," she says. "Shopping centres need to improve their ability to recognise criminals and work with the criminal system."


The urgent need for crime fighting has eclipsed for the moment the issue of public privacy and civil rights protection. Last month's constitutional court ruling against the Asset Forfeiture Unit's seizure of an illegal gambler's assets, declaring the unit's action disproportionate to the crime, has added to the debate over citizen rights.


Irish-Qhobosheane acknowledges the rights dangers inherent in expanded surveillance and security checking, but says it needs not be aggressive.


"Racial profiling is not only difficult to do effectively, it's completely inappropriate in these circumstances," she says.


Communities can, and must, play a role in knocking back organised crime too.

For a detailed understanding of how organised crime works click on:

The Social Economy of organized Crime

One novel approach is the "systems" or "gravity" method of fighting organised crime, put forward by Sabric's GM for crime risk information, Ian Janse van Vuuren.


It involves careful observation of a criminal group and then using that intelligence to target its central figures in such a way as to disrupt the entire group's centre of gravity and hence its ability to operate.

For the complete monograph on the subject:

"Targeting organised crime - a systems approach", click here.
The successful efforts to deal with crime that we have chronicled here show that amid the web of despair there lie success stories. These provide lessons - communities are an essential ingredient - but also show that unique solutions have to be developed to confront specific problems faced by certain areas.


What still has to materialise is strong and cohesive national leadership to direct and sustain the community energies. That is why the safety & security ministry's current proposal to revamp and empower community police forums needs strong and swift support (see Q & A alongside).


Minister Charles Nqakula could find support for funding the drive from finance minister Trevor Manuel. In a speech to a national prosecuting authority conference last week, Manuel urged crime fighters in government to be more co-ordinated in their efforts and to involve communities, social workers, schools and local councillors.


"Only through partnerships (with community organisations such as churches, youth organisations and the business community) can we hold our law enforcement agencies accountable and direct their efforts in a firm and innovative way, taking into account the conditions at local level," Manuel said.


But it doesn't help that SA's top policeman, Selebi, remains under suspicion of involvement with organised crime - fuelled in part by his own defiant admission of friendship with recognised crime boss Glenn Agliotti. Political sensitivities within the ANC appear to be preventing government from suspending or at least disciplining Selebi while the Scorpions work to build a winnable case against Agliotti.


For all of the controversy around him, though, Selebi must be credited with one act of leadership that could encourage and empower community-level police partnerships: the restructuring of the police service to strengthen the skills base of police stations; a controversial step, but one that may yet prove more beneficial than debilitating.


Integration and cohesion of effort are also crucial to the fight against crime. And here government is gradually moving to break down the strategic barriers between departments within the criminal justice system, through such joint forums as the justice and security cluster. But it is at the operational level that more work needs to be done to bring state agencies into shared focus. This is another function in which communities can assist government - by drawing local health, welfare and justice officials together with police in joint planning sessions.


Meanwhile, criminals - organised networks in particular - continue to set the pace as they operate without time-consuming regulations or procedures. The only option available for law-abiding citizens is to organise as communities, and use and strengthen the instruments and expertise - notably the police and justice officers - available to them.

My point of this thread is not to single out south africa....but with the world cup looming....I just wanted a thread of security measures....There are bad news like this that happens in the u.s....in fact early this morning a gunman went into a university in virginia (virginia tech)....and killed 32 people and killed himself. I just want news on policing the world cup.

Jo'burg looking for more officers before 2010
April 16, 2007, 22:15

The Johannesburg metro police is embarking on a mission to recruit and train 500 new metro police officers every year until 2010.

The plan is to ensure that there are 4 000 officers by 2010, said Wayne Minnaar, a superintendent.

The new recruits would be expected to do basic training for six months and field training for a further six months. The criteria used to select an eligible candidate are a matric certificate or Grade 12 certificate, a valid driver's licence and no criminal record. After the basic course, individuals would be required to write a test.

The course would be advertised twice a year, in April and October. The people in the course would be paid R2 000 a month, and once qualified they would be entitled to a R4 600 stipend.

Thereafter the officers would be placed on a progression plan which increases annually. - Sapa

I dont think ol Houston meant any harm by this thread, but anyway his BANNED .........AGAIN

^^ Is it that easy to get banned:shocked:

Sjoe, he gets banned while little nixx runs amock? I don't think he deserved a ban. but anyhow - interesting times

South Africa: Council Urged to Up Budget for Metro Cops





Email This Page

Print This Page




Cape Argus (Cape Town)

April 13, 2007
Posted to the web April 13, 2007

Lindsay Dentlinger


The city's Metro Police force needs to expand considerably if it is to meet the demands of a growing city, but its operational budgetary allocation of R270 million for the 2007/08 financial year will make this impossible,

JP Smith, chairman of the council's safety and security committee, said yesterday he would have to lobby the council much harder for more resources in order to appoint more police officers, despite the R20m increase in the budget allocation.


"There is no way we can maintain the status quo. The budget must increase.

"We must grow the service and keep pace with the growth of the city, especially ahead of 2010," he said.

The force now has about 400 members.

In a draft operational plan for July 2007 to June 2008, presented to the committee yesterday, the metro police are to start operating in three independently run separate units, each with its own staff, budget and resources by July 1. These will be the traffic unit, law enforcement and rapid deployment (VIP security) units.

The city will soon advertise - first, internally - for people to run each unit.

"The rationale is that the focus on the three functional areas will not be lost but enhanced," Caesar Scullard of the city's human resources department told the committee.

Smith said he would like to see dedicated units within the metro police to deal with land invasions, taxi and public transport violations.

Motivating the city's integrated development plan (IDP) on Wednesday, mayor Helen Zille said the metro police operations had to be investigated to determine whether the city was reaping the benefits of the R500m it had ploughed into the force over the last year.

This is the metro police's fifth year in operation.

Yesterday Smith said he was "extremely impressed" by the new work-plan of the metro police that was put before the committee, saying it had covered virtually every base of enforcing law in the city.

Relevant Links

Southern Africa
South Africa



The document sets out the priorities and objectives of the force over the next year.

Among its goals is a campaign focusing on minor crimes and by-law offences that relate to anti-social behaviour, clamping down on: drunkenness, drinking in public, riotous behaviour, drunken driving and drug abuse.

Its traffic division plans a "no-nonsense" approach to-wards traffic offences.

NO FEARS FOR WORLD CUP 2010

The murder of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer has raised concerns about security arrangements for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

There have been suggestions that Woolmer, who coached the Proteas from 1994 to 1999, was killed following his side's exit from the World Cup because he was about to reveal details of match-fixing.

There has since been speculation that crime, betting and even terrorism could scupper the showpiece tournament in three years, but top South African officials insist this will not happen.

Initial fears have been allayed by South African Police Commissioner Andre Pruis - the man in charge of World Cup security - who claims safety is "guaranteed" during the tournament.

Pruis, one of the senior figures involved in planning the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 2003 Cricket World Cup, told The Star newspaper there were big plans for the tournament.

These include a dedicated police station in each host city, surveillance planes and international police officers from each participating country.

Police have given themselves nine months to complete their operational plans, which have been in the pipeline for three years. To ensure the tournament runs smoothly, they are to start running simulator tests at specially-picked local games next year.

According to the report, they have also begun spending £42million on top of their annual budget, most of which will be used to buy equipment ranging from light aircraft to hundreds of kilometres of retractable fencing.

Every host city will have one dedicated police station, modified to accommodate separate holding cells, a courtroom for speedy judgements and a home affairs office for possible deportations.

Each stadium could have 64 or more public-order police officers on guard, with support from international police officers as well as guards and marshals from the local security industry.

"With such an event you import the world's problems into your country," Pruis told The Star. "But I am very positive and feel good about the operational plans and the commanders (who will manage the police units)."

Pruis added that the plans include counters for terrorism, which is seen as a growing threat.

"We are 100% on top of it," he assured.

The security team is considering buying four planes - with video cameras feeding live footage to ground officers - to watch over the World Cup from the skies.

Other equipment being bought includes mobile command centres, water cannon, crime-scene trailers, new armour for vehicles and new tools needed for the bomb squads.

According to Pruis, by 2010, 30,000 dedicated police officers will be deployed in host cities. To supplement the 45,000 reservists currently serving in the country, Pruis hopes for 50,000 more to be recruited by 2010.

Each stadium will have one or two mobile police centres, kitted out with hi-tech monitoring equipment and computer systems to, for example, run checks on people's identities.

International police officers from every playing country will wear their country's uniforms and will help communicate with visitors and spot dangerous situations.

Plans are also afoot to ban hooligans and unwanted visitors from the competition.

"We will tell them that they won't be allowed into South Africa," Pruis said.

Ah welcome back gizzim

^^ Ty my Nizzle.....I guess i got banned cuz i went to the U.K forum and i got banned for having another name after i got banned lol. Haters....I think i will just stick to SA and U.S forum.

^^ Howz it going. What are your motives though. Are you just going creating hate threads, or do you simply feel they are important issues

We all know where this thread is going to go.... PLEASE can we close this...

^^ Howz it going. What are your motives though. Are you just going creating hate threads, or do you simply feel they are important issues

How is this hate threads.....The point of this thread is to talk about the news for the security measures for the world cup. Crime occurs everywhere and I am not trying to single out SA....this thread is part of the world cup and thats the reason for me creating this.

I was just asking, I never actually said this was a hate thread

Sjoe, he gets banned while little nixx runs amock? I don't think he deserved a ban. but anyhow - interesting times

say wa?? lil nixi runs amock?? what did i do rong?? kinda like the name tho...lil' nix! mwuahahaha

why oh why has this darn thread lasted so long?? do we not have any mods?

The Mods weren't for a visit to LalaLand:lol: :lol:

South Africa: Build-Up to 2010 'Not Best Time to Overhaul Police'





Email This Page

Print This Page




Business Day (Johannesburg)

April 26, 2007
Posted to the web April 26, 2007

Wyndham Hartley
Cape Town

Concern that SA will not be able to provide adequate levels of security for the 2010 Fifa World Cup are legitimate, according to the latest Crime Quarterly publication from the Institute for Security Studies.

The views in the publication, by researcher Johan Burger, are a direct contradiction to the government's position that the Cricket World Cup in 2003 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development were successes at a time when crime was at a higher level.


In February President Thabo Mbeki gave African Christian Democratic Party leader Kenneth Meshoe a tongue-lashing in Parliament for suggesting crime could derail the hosting of the World Cup.

Burger wrote that the legitimate concerns about security for the cup were based on two premises: "Firstly, there is general consensus that the high levels of crime, and especially the extreme nature of the violence that accompanies these crimes, create a negative perception about SA's readiness to host this event.

"There is a danger that this may deter people from coming here and some even speculate that the event may be moved to another country.

"Secondly, the perceived struggle within the police to stem the crime tide and the apparent clumsiness with which they are attempting to restructure the organisation to make it more efficient and effective, leads to serious distrust in the ability of the police to safeguard the 2010 event," Burger wrote.

He said the restructuring of the police was a source of concern because of its practicability.

He asked about the wisdom of undertaking such a comprehensive restructuring of police so close to the biggest major event the country has seen in the midst of a situation of increasing violent.

"Would it not be more realistic to phase it in more gradually and over a much longer period?" he said.

"The police/public ratio of 1:385 compares favourably with the international average of 1:300-400 and is set to improve even more over the next three years. It appears as if the problem is not so much with the number of police, but rather with how they are being managed.

"This notion is supported by the recent announcement of the safety and security minister that retired police officers will be approached to assist the police in terms of their experience and skills. At the same time it is an acknowledgement that the police lost more expertise than they could afford.

Relevant Links

Southern Africa
South Africa
Legal and Judicial Affairs
Soccer



"With regard to the second premise, some form of political intervention is necessary to ensure that the restructuring of the police is done sensibly and responsibly.

"The police have in the past proved themselves competent and able to secure major events.

"This was the case, for example, in 2003 with the Cricket World Cup, despite the fact that in general levels of crime were higher then than they are at the moment. Therefore the current restructuring process should not be allowed in any way to impair the ability of the police to perform according to their proven ability," Burger wrote.

My brother , I think your in the wrong place.
I know your not trying to be negative however.....

This is a haven for people who want positive news on South Africa....

You are obviously very proud to be living in America now, not even sure if your South African.... Well the people here are very proud to be South African and we like to focus on positive news..... There are so many other sites out there and this thread you started has been done to death.....
If you want to discuss crime i suggest you join one of those sites...

This site is like a breath of fresh air, lets keep it that way !




cya in Texas boet....
You can be proud of SA but concerned about crime. The two are not mutually exclusive. In fact anyone who loves SA should be concerned about the country's crime problem.

Mitchells Plain residents join police to combat drug dealers


By Aziz Hartley

THE vice-grip on crime in Mitchells Plain is tightening as police and residents join hands to tackle the township's criminals - drug dealers in particular.

Over the past three weeks, people have marched to tik dealers' homes and demanded they stop their illegal activities.

In New Woodlands, at least two dealers promised to stop peddling, while at another house the owner evicted tenants he said had used the house to sell drugs. He has since offered his home as a base for the area's neighbourhood watch.

When residents confront drug dealers and police disclose the addresses of homes officers have seized drugs at, it is a clear sign that the community and police are working together, says Mitchells Plain police commissioner Jeremy Vearey.

There has been a dramatic increase in crime awareness in the township since he took charge a month ago. More residents are forming street committees, ensuring crime is monitored and reported.

Vearey said yesterday that media reports about a police name and shame campaign gave the false impression that people were being branded. "It is about visible policing. There has not been a single incident of vigilantism."

Asked how success against crime would be measured, Vearey said: "The majority of crimes are social fabric crimes. If you look at what the thief is stealing, you'll see this is true. We are not talking about a time line here.

"We got to do this ... street by street. It might take years, but we have the commitment from both police and the community."

Cape Town Deputy Mayor Charlotte Williams, who hails from Eastridge gave the campaign the thumbs up.

She said that if parents discovered their children used drugs, they as parents should be understanding.

"Throwing them on the street won't help. Support your child to kick the habit, because recovery from drugs is a huge battle for them."

Williams said she had discussions with the mayoral committee member for sport and recreation to to consider opening up council halls for community activities to occupy the youth.

Gafiesa Ben, a New Woodlands mother, said residents, police and the neighbourhood watch patrolled the area at night.

She said a recent march to a drug dealer's house was "orderly".

"There is no such thing as vigilantism because that is breaking the law. Most people know where dealers live, but it's still important (that) addresses are made public," she said.

Proudly Manenberg chairman Mario Wanza said: "Residents are starting to take ownership of their communities.

"Their frustration with crime must be channelled and should be driven by a strong partnership with government and business."

Published on the web by Cape Times on April 26, 2007. © Cape Times 2007. All rights reserved.

Nqakula in UK to calm investors (http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/PrintEdition/News/Article.aspx?id=448742)

ROWAN PHILP and JULIAN RADEMEYER
29 April 2007


‘I empathise with [expats]. It is clear that they have not just run away, but want to make a contribution to South Africa’

Safety and Security minister also reaches out to expats

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula undertook an unprecedented trip to the UK last week to reassure jittery foreign investors that South Africa is serious about tackling crime.

The visit — the first by a South African minister of policing — was widely hailed as a success by UK investment companies.

Nqakula is considering similar trips to Italy and Austria.

The charm offensive also included an address to expatriate South Africans during which Nqakula uncharacteristically acknowledged that many had left due to personal experience of violent crime.

“I empathise with them,” he said. “It is clear that they have not just run away, but want to make a contribution to South Africa ... they are saying that they are still available as South Africans.”

His comments were in contrast to his controversial assertion earlier this year that people who “whinged” about crime should leave the country.

Addressing more than two dozen investment firms, which included Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan, in London, Nqakula said South Africa had a plan to tackle crime.

The 20% of violent crime that made headlines — mostly daylight robberies and attacks on the “upper classes” — was being targeted with new manpower and technology, he said .

Admitting that “we can’t have [peace and stability] with the current levels of crime”, Nqakula told investors that:

# There had been a change in management at 101 underperforming police stations in violent-crime hot spots since August last year, while a further 239 under-performing station commissioners and 317 station commanders had been replaced;

# 15000 new police reservists would soon be increased to 100 000 as the core of a community policing programme; and

# The police budget would increase to more than R43-billion by 2010, with the police force having 193 000 employees.

Nqakula was told by one investment firm that success in dealing with crime would see South Africa rewarded with “billions” of investment dollars. A consultant also predicted that “tens of thousands” of skilled expatriates would return to South Africa.

The visit by Nqakula — who was said to have been subjected to a “grilling” by the investors — was welcomed by Lord Robin Renwick, vice-chairman for investment at JPMorgan, who said it represented an “important” coup for future investment .

“Usually, you have foreign ministers and finance ministers coming across and appealing for confidence in government policies, so to have an interior minister, responsible for security, speaking directly to fund managers on the issue is very rare, very smart and very welcome,” said Renwick.

“What was clearly evident was that the government understands that crime is of major concern to investors, and that they are tackling the problem as an absolute priority.”

Renwick said much-publicised murders, such as that of renowned historian David Rattray, had been damaging for South Africa’s image and investment prospects.

“The minister’s plan made sense; he made a very good impression.”

Other investment bankers told the Sunday Times Nqakula had salvaged confidence after a year of headline-grabbing murders.

Leslie Xingwa, advise r to Nqakula, said the minister had made the trip partly because “there is an intent to be able to see any prospective investors, put our case to them and show there are prospects in South Africa”.

He said the response was considered to have been “generally positive”. The meeting with the expatriates was the “most positive” of all, Xingwa added.

Brian Hosking, chairman of the South African Business Club in London, who attended the briefing, agreed, saying Nqakula had presented a “convincing crime plan” and had “put to rest any thoughts that he was in any way anti-white or anti-expat”.

“The background against which he came over here was, of course, those remarks [that crime whingers should leave] and the impression that crime was not being taken seriously enough,” said Hosking. “But a number of [expats] were listening to see if this was really his line, and it clearly wasn’t. Look, the proof will be in the pudding, but he came across as a credible minister with a clear sense of what needs to be done.”

President Thabo Mbeki also addressed crime in a Freedom Day speech, urging all South Africans to fight it and corruption.

“We call on our people to renew their pledge for partnerships at community levels ... to form and strengthen partnerships, to join community police forums, to create street and areas committees so that together we can effectively fight crime,” he said.

What are the police like in SA? Are they strong or are they easy to bribe or inbetween?

What are the police like in SA? Are they strong or are they easy to bribe or inbetween?

Due to being paid peanuts and pure greed, the police are still likely to take a bribe. They are relatively easy to bribe although they can be costly if the crime involved carries a stiff sentence or if they perceive the criminal to have more money. They do act like they are going to arrest you and all that but money ultimately talks. But like everything in life, there is still a few good men. I have maintained for a long time that as long as you pay peanuts you will get monkeys.

Consider the fact that a new cop starting in the US will earn around $4500 a month and progress up to say $6200 pm. In SA a cop will most likely start at roughly $700 pm. Now the cost of living in SA compared to the US is not exactly cheap, so these guys invariably end up finding a way to supplement their income. Also in some cases there is just complete mismanagement of the local police stations and you often here some disturbing stories of police extorting bribes from foreigners and prostitute by randomly arresting them instead of doing their work.

So what is south africa doing to eliminate this?

http://gallery.marihemp.com/albums/capetown2004mmm/Resize_of_DSCN2521.sized.jpg

^^ These guys are crooked huh( rally for weed legalization) .....By the way i think weed should be legalize thru out the world. If cigarettes can be legal why cant weed...cigarettes causes cancer...but weed doesnt. Hell alcohol is legal and u can have an accident if ur drunk...but u cant if ur high.

What are the police like in SA? Are they strong or are they easy to bribe or inbetween?

Charles Nqakula (Police minister - the same one that delivered his famous speech, "they can continue to whinge until they are blue in the face, or they can simply leave this country. He is a changed man (http://www.sundaytimes.co.za/PrintEdition/Article.aspx?id=448792) now, LOL ) said to the investment community in London last week that he is changing management in 101 underperforming police stations in the crime hot spots around the country, while a further 239 under-performing station commissioners and 317 station commanders had been replaced.

Trevor Manual (Finance Minister) promised more money for the police department although we have not heard how they intend to spend it. 15000 new police reservists would soon increase the reserve strength to 100,000 as the core of a community policing programme; and the police budget would increase to more than R43-billion by 2010, with the police force having employees. I have also heard that in Gauteng a huge project is underway to link all police vehicles by a satellite tracking system which will enable the police station commanders to know exactly where each vehicle and police officer is and link this to emergency systems so that when a crime is reported, the closest vehicle to the crime scene must respond within a certain time frame to the emergency.

Also they are beefing up the complaints directorate which deals with corrupt police officers and public complaints. The public policing forums are also getting involved heavily and given access to the station commanders all the way to the provincial and national police commissioners. The details are still scanty so we will wait and see what the plan really is. This is just some of the things i have picked up through various news reports.

Mo or kulani post some pictures of SA police...

http://i17.tinypic.com/67gdk45.jpg

http://i14.tinypic.com/66vjblu.jpg

http://i13.tinypic.com/4vgnrzb.jpg

....I just had to post this!

http://i12.tinypic.com/6feyd1w.jpg

lol durbsboi

Police performing some stunts

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/450398031_dbc0d9d922_b.jpg

Gauteng Police Commissioner with 250 new cars for Joburg police

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/463886163_e3d76a5be5_b.jpg

Langa police station in Cape Town

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/355653947_2912574db3_b.jpg

Arrested on Human Rights Day. The man appears to be demonstrating his awareness about his rights. lol

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/463886165_6ca7f88307_b.jpg

Cops having fun patrolling crowds at a Jazz concert

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/24/40363561_67d6ffdbee_o.jpg

With Queen Modjadji, i wonder what kind of weapon the Constable has there, but it looks sure to provide
security for the queen

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/62/230382336_ef21a9ce77_o.jpg

Police in action in Cape Town during a strike, funny how the camera man is on the police side

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/57/166701345_f444f74067_o.jpg

My favourate one, this is a little old, back in 1994 when the hostel violence was at its peak. On the ground is one of the trouble some
IFP members (Zulu dominated political party) that caused a lot of turbulence leading up to the historic election. Those were the days
indeed. I used to be glued to my TV set wondering what was going to happen tomorrow. lol

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/34/66727164_4e3bf61cc5.jpg?v=0

This looks like Hillbrow police station, one of the busiest police stations in Joburg, a little
background on Hillbrow, used to be an upmarket precinct that turned into some sort of a
Harlem after the Nigerian drug dealers and prostitute invaded it in the early 1990s.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/122/316769774_19e5a72bbc_b.jpg

SUPRINTENDENT Lungelo Dlamini and Detective Amos Maneta of the South African Police Services apprehend
the last suspect in the rape and murder case of Thato Radebe, at Emndeni in Soweto.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/473479458_560c834203_b.jpg

There is a new Queen Modjaji? I didn't know when the new Queen was selected.

There is a new Queen Modjaji? I didn't know when the new Queen was selected.

That appears to be the late Queen Modjaji who passed away in 2005. I am not
able to confirm this though.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/349201105_e177471ff7_b.jpg

South Africa: Police service to deploy 30, 000 men in 2010 World Cup
Mon. May 14, 2007 08:13 pm.- By Bonny Apunyu. - Send this news article

(SomaliNet) Some 30,000 police men in blue will be deployed by the South African Police Service (SAPS) specifically to look after the tourists coming for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup South Africa.

The SAPS Divisional Commissioner, Visible Policing, Arno Lamoer made this announcement on Sunday at the Tourism Indaba media debate on the 2010 world cup.

According to the commissioner, the plan means that one officer will protect ten visitors.

This is apart of the 190 000 police officers to be deployed in the country from the current 156 000 to ensure a safe world cup.
"Besides this every year, we have about 44 000 South Africans wishing to join the force as police reservists.

"This shows South Africans' spirit and willingness to live in a safe society," Mr Lamoer said.

The debate was facilitated by BBC's Hard talk presenter who kept on referring to President Thabo Mbeki's remarks that people lived in barbwire fences and did not enjoy public spaces, an acknowledgment of crime being a challenge.

Mr Lamoer however explained that a study had showed that 80 percent of violent crimes such as murder happened in a cycle of people who knew one another.

Chief Executive Officer of the Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) Monhla Hlahla shares his sentiment, adding that "it happens in households and communities; they don't happen in the way from or to the airport."

In addition, the commissioner said the SAPS were also forming partnerships with the 300 000 private security force.

He assured international community that safety was guaranteed during the tournament of the world's greatest football show with more police visibility and community involvement.

"Our communities must assist us by not creating opportunities for criminals, a criminal will not commit crime when there is no opportunity to do so," he said.

Jaime Byrom, head of Match, a FIFA appointed company to deliver on accommodation, said he did not have doubt South Africa will deliver a successful world cup.

"With the high level of enthusiasm and support from the people of South Africa, I'm confident the 2010 world cup would be a success," he said.

He also clarified that ships would not be used for accommodation in the coastal host cities.

"We have made a calculated decision not to include artificiality and allocate people at lodges, bed and breakfast which makes this world cup very unique," he said.

He also confirmed that Match had been in contact with hotel communities in the neighbouring countries so that they would benefit as part of the campaign to make the tournament an African world cup," he said.

Chief Executive Officer of the South African Tourism Moeketsi Mosola and Ms Hlahla said the airline given the need would be flexible amid fears that South African Airways may not be flexible enough to handle the sudden rise of demand from other airlines wishing to come to South Africa during the tournament.

"It happened during the cricket world cup in 2003; India made it to the final stage of the World Cup and suddenly, there was a rise in the demand from Dubai to South Africa and it was accommodated," Mr Mosola said.

The Executive Director Marketing and Commercial Affairs, Tim Modise said all five stadiums that are currently being built from scratch are on schedule, saying he did not believe that there could be anything to delay the construction.-BuaNews

SA to step up tourism security for World Cup

Wendell Roelf | Cape Town, South Africa



23 May 2007 12:59

South Africa will beef up security for tourists for the 2010 Soccer World Cup to ensure visitors are shielded from the country's notoriously high crime rates, the country's tourism chief said on Wednesday.

South African Tourism chief executive Moeketsi Mosola said the plan included provisions for victim support and a 24-hour multilingual emergency hotline linked to a satellite global-positioning system to enable the police or medical services to pinpoint a caller's exact location.

"In the case of an attack or you are a victim, you call in and tell us where you are. We can send emergency services if that's what you need, or if it's to be able to be in contact with you to guide you to safety," Mosola told Reuters.

The first African country to host the tournament, South Africa is expecting up to 3,5-million people to take part in the month-long event, with 360 000 of them foreigners.

But the continent's economic powerhouse, which has among the world's highest incidence of murder and rape, is battling perceptions that it is an unsafe destination, particularly in poor townships.

In November 2005 a bus carrying a group of German tour operators on a fact-finding mission was held up in Khayelitsha township outside Cape Town.

World soccer body Fifa has nevertheless deviated from previous tournaments and allowed South Africa to extend accommodation beyond traditional hotels to include game lodges as well as graded bed and breakfasts and guest houses in some township areas.

No 'no-go' areas
"There are no no-go areas in this country ... We shall leave no place to be ruled by thugs in South Africa and that's the point we are trying to say," Mosola said.

"Part of providing a true South African travel experience is about having access to townships, because that's where our people basically live and tourism and the township experience is part of South Africa's positioning and offering."

South Africa has pledged to fight crime ahead of the World Cup and officials have said they expect 195 000 uniformed police officers and 320 000 private security personnel to be on hand when the matches begin.

The matches will take place in 10 stadiums across South Africa and the final will be decided in Johannesburg's Soccer City Stadium with a capacity of 95 000.

Mosola said steadily increasing tourist numbers showed South Africa was turning around a situation in which millions of potential tourists and billions of rands in revenue were lost because of negative safety perceptions.

A 2005 government document showed that across eight key markets -- including the United States, Britain, Germany and China -- 22,25-million potential travellers did not consider South Africa over a five-year period because of security issues.

"Come 2010 I have no doubt South Africans will be on site to give a world-class travel and tourism experience with a high level of friendliness and warmth," Mosola said.

"But most importantly we will ensure, not only that our tourists are safe and secure, but also that our people ... can enjoy the beautiful game of soccer in a very safe and secure environment." -- Reuters
Related articles

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/18/23827756_bec2290f98_b.jpg

Our Police at your service
http://www.signalsystems.co.za/images/gallery9.jpg
http://www.signalsystems.co.za/images/gallery10.jpg
http://www.signalsystems.co.za/images/gallery13.jpg

http://www.signalsystems.co.za/images/gallery7.jpg

http://www.signalsystems.co.za/images/gallery12.jpg

With all these police facilities in SA....why is crime so high then....should cops be patrolling the street of jozi and cape and durban, and other crime areas 24/7 ?
Shouldnt Cops over there go to police school for some years....and then some smart cops on the streets to patrol.....not crooked cops looking for bribes.....they should increase the pay raise for cops over there...and i think u will see more arrest and less crime.

With all these police facilities in SA....why is crime so high then....should cops be patrolling the street of jozi and cape and durban, and other crime areas 24/7 ?
Shouldnt Cops over there go to police school for some years....and then some smart cops on the streets to patrol.....not crooked cops looking for bribes.....they should increase the pay raise for cops over there...and i think u will see more arrest and less crime.

My 2 cents regarding this is that the police became too obsessed about changing the racial composition of the force (as is the case with most of the other government units) that the wrong people got appointed as police station commanders and police chiefs without the requisite experience. This has resulted in a police force that was bleeding its skills and experience while the criminals were quietly setting up shop.

There are other issues of course such as the criminal justice system that needs some overhauling, a culture of violence that was nurtured by the violent strikes during the anti-apartheid era, poverty in the midst of riches, corruption in the police force, illegal immigrants who also take part in some of the violent crimes (e.g. bank robbery, hijacking, burglary) etc. Such are the challenges that today confronts the powers that be and i can only hope that they are up to the task. As for the illegal immigrants we can thank our more than "capable" Home Affairs department for issuing visas, passports and identity documents to illegal foreigners who pay them bribes while making it next to impossible for the educated Africans that South Africa can use to its advantage to enter the country.

we have police patrolling..and those ADT men on bicycles and

Quite a lot of police patrols.. In the past month i have come across two major road blocks, with atleast 20-30 cops and 2 massive police vans collecting arrested people.. These are good things yet ppl complain that the roadblocks make them late and increase traffic.. aaah the irony

Maybe they shouldn't be patrolling in Benzos and B-MAs, you need a rough ride with those criminals. But on a serious note, Police can be effective only to a certain extend, fighting crime takes the collective efforts of everyone in the community. Neighbors should be willing to out these criminals living amongst them, witnesses should come forth and the whole criminal life-style should be shun upon.

Yea i saw the police cars in benz and bmws....damn expensive rides for cops.....

Yea i saw the police cars in benz and bmws....damn expensive rides for cops.....

The BMW and Mercedes cars are mostly donated by their respective auto dealers. I also know that the Johannesburg Metro Police Department lease most of their cars, so they often go with those dealers who provide them with the best deal overall. BMW and the C-Class Benz are also locally manufactured which can also give the auto dealers an upper hand against some of the other imported cars.

Reposting what i put in the thread about "Your country's emergency vehicles" (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=477078&page=2)

Emergency vehicles in South Africa

traffic cops

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1221/526092620_aadd1a0687.jpg-http://www.joburg-archive.co.za/images/sep/jmpd2.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/12/89102355_47278d41d7_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/48651495_b253e5bda4.jpg

a typical emergency response by firefighters, ambulances, tow trucks and police

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/155/355731422_e80e9f1076_b.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/355730823_e5418f74d9_b.jpg

Police

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/166/355653947_2912574db3.jpg-http://farm1.static.flickr.com/191/450398031_dbc0d9d922.jpg

firefighters

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/486112880_de9f68c224.jpghttp://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/486112314_f27a949315.jpg?v=0


on the 13th of April 2004, a huge fire engulfed Makro, one of South Africa's largest wholesalers. The loss in stock was estimated at $30 million. An investigation was launched into the cause of the fire. The store was rebuilt and reopened within five months

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/5501/1212306108058839760S500x500Q85.jpghttp://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/3983/1212306805058839760S500x500Q85.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/176/441620594_228928975d_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/80338339_5c7bb54a05_o.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/389955173_c23abe2f37_b.jpg
^^Durban Beach police

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/14/94051742_caf122988f_o.jpg
^^Durban City Police

Police ops centres for 2010
Themba Gadebe
4 June 2007

The South African Police Service will establish three types of operational safety and law enforcement centres for cities, stadiums and routes leading to hotels and entertainment venues during the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Police spokesperson senior superintendent Vish Naidoo said that Venue Operational Centres, Joint Operational Centres and Mobile Operational centres would be set up as part of the 2010 safety plan.

"The Venue Operational Centre will be based in stadiums to ensure security and safety during the games. Police officers, emergency services, traffic and metro police, private security and intelligence core will be deployed in the centre as part of the joint operational safety plan," he said.

While the Joint Operational Centres would be responsible for citywide safety, Mobile Operational Centres would be on standby to attend to any situation such as crime scenes.

Naidoo said the mobile centres would be equipped with armoured vehicles, as well as bomb disposal and dog units. In addition aircraft installed with video cameras would capture activities on the ground and feed them to the Joint Operational Centres.

He explained that the stadiums would be divided into different perimeters: "We will have the actual stadium plus the inner and outer parameters, each of which will be allocated tight security, where search and seizure of restricted and prohibited items would be done."

People without tickets would not be allowed to loiter outside the stadiums, or within the outer perimeter.

"We also have no-traffic and pedestrians zones around the stadiums. There will also be no air traffic during the actual matches except landing zones for police helicopters," Naidoo said.

He emphasised that hotels and entertainment spots would receive high-priority safety, while protection would be offered to the Fifa delegation, teams and referees.

"Some people feel that it is too much, but it’s not. There is no 'too much' when coming to the lives of the people," he said.

Naidoo there will be designated routes to guide fans to the stadiums, right until they reach the entrance closest to their allocated seats.

"Fans will be channelled to different entrances to avoid congestion and confrontations between rival fans," he said.

Police officers would also closely monitor entertainment areas until after they were cleared, in preparation for similar situations to the 2006 Fifa World Cup in Germany, where people congregated in fan parks.

"From the experience in Germany, people stay in entertainment areas until the next day," he said.

Naidoo added that the Police would also receive assistance from the police forces of other participating countries, and help overcome differences in languages.

Source: BuaNews

^^ This is what im talking about....and it shouldnt take 2010 for that to happen....it can start happening now....

^^ This is what im talking about....and it shouldnt take 2010 for that to happen....it can start happening now....

Yes, it would be nice if the police could start implementing some of these strategies even now during major soccer and rugby tournaments which will give them a chance to rehearse and improve their tactics while offering much needed safety to spectators and the public. Why not start doing this in downtown Johannesburg!! I am kinda tired of plans and plans, i am now more interested in actions!!

yep...no cars on fan miles or in stadium precincts 5 hours before matches on match days! only public transport, busses trains..spectators fifa fan mile people...bicycles!

South Africa: Crime Trends Point to a Safe World Cup


BuaNews (Tshwane)

3 July 2007
Posted to the web 3 July 2007

Thapelo Sakoana
Pretoria

Crime trends have shown that more criminal activities occur during the festive season and decrease around mid-year, the time the country is expected to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Unveiled by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on Tuesday, the trends reveal that most crimes - especially social contact crime - occur on weekends with perpetrators mostly influenced by liquor.


National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi said he did not have "sleepless nights" about how crime would affect the 2010 FIFA World Cup because the statistics show that this type of incidents were low during that period.

He said the police already knew how many people were expected in the country for the tournament, where they would sleep, the routes they would travel on and the places likely to be visited.

In this context, Mr Selebi highlighted that the statistics revealed that most crimes were taking place especially in townships rather than places such as hotels and stadiums where most of the visitors would be during the world cup.

"We know where the people are going to stay, the routes they are going to use and the stadiums they will go to. These things are easy to police," he said.

"In June 2010, nobody is going on leave. There will be additional police officers and reservists. We also have the June period where crime is at the lowest so for me it means that we will succeed if we work in a way we said we will do."

Mr Selebi warned that it was important to note, especially when talking about crime and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, that police had planned already on how to deal with crime in general not primarily the event in particular.

"The statistics are not saying crime is taking place in Loftus Versveld, nor do they say at Ellis Park nor Green Point in Cape Town, they say Khayelitsha...So if we say we will concentrate on the things we say we will do, it says to me that we can host that world cup without a lot of problems," he said.

The statistics provided the basis for the police to deal with crime tendencies when and where they emerged, he said.

This means that the police would channel more resources to areas identified as experiencing more criminal incidents across the country.

According to the national commissioner's assessment of the statistics, there are three provinces in the country that need more attention in terms of resource allocation as they account for about 62 percent of serious crimes nationally.

Mr Selebi said although there were specific locations across the country that had high incidents of crime, he was also concerned about levels of serious crime in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.

"So whatever we do, these provinces must have the advantage of resources over the others," he said.

Already, he said, Gauteng had received about 400 additional police officers and KwaZulu-Natal 370 - following an agreement at the SAPS management meeting in February this year that there be additional resources in these provinces considering the number of crime incidents there.

This would go a long way in increasing police visibility in these areas to ensure that incidents of house robberies are minimised as these crimes have the potential to lead to other incidents such as murder and rape.

In this regard, he noted that there were high levels of such crimes in new residential areas, citing the Garsfontein suburb of Pretoria as an example.

"There are higher levels of crime in Garsfontein than you would have in Attridgeville. This is because there is no social cohesion there and people don't know each other because everybody is new," he said.

This, he explained, made it difficult for residents in such suburbs to notice criminals in their midst.

Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula said he wondered what aspects of crime people thought would affect the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

"Nobody has ever told me what the connection is here [between crime and 2010]. Is it the general crime that is happening is South Africa that worries us?

"When we say crime and 2010 - the crime that we are reporting about here today -to what extent is for instance, social crime - which happens in shebeens between people who know each other - [going to affect the world cup]," he asked.

Commenting of the crime statistics, the minister noted that contact crime decreased by three percent, below the 7-10 percent target set by government in this category.

Compared with the previous year, decreases in six out of eight categories of contact crimes brought about an overall decrease of 3,4 percent in 2006/07 compared with the 2005/06 financial year.

Relevant Links

Southern Africa
South Africa
Crime and Corruption
Soccer



Common assault is down 8,7 percent, common robbery is down 5,8 percent, indecent assault is down 5,5 percent, rape is down 5,2 percent, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm (GBH) is down 4,9 percent and attempted murder is down 3 percent.

However, despite the overall decrease, there has been an increase in two categories: aggravated robbery and murder, which went up by 4,6 percent and 2,4 percent respectively.

Police did point out that the rise of 2,4 percent in the incidence of murder can be explained by the 4,6 percent hike in aggravated robbery, a crime in which firearms are invariably used.

We've got 2010 covered: SA police
Thapelo Sakoana

4 July 2007

South Africa's national police commissioner, chief Jackie Selebi, says he's losing no sleep over the possible effects of crime on the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Speaking to journalists in Pretoria on Tuesday, at the unveiling of the South African Police Service's crime statistics for 2006/07, Selebi said that while crime remained a serious challenge for the country, the type of crimes that dominated the police statistics were, of their nature and location, unlikely to affect foreign holidaymakers - or soccer fans - visiting the country.

According to police and independent analysis, Selebi said, at least two-thirds of all violent crimes in the country were "social crimes" - crimes that took place among people who knew one another, usually within the confines of the same social environment, and in many cases triggered by alcohol and substance abuse.

This was supported by the fact that "contact crimes" in South Africa tended to occur mainly over weekends, peaking over the December/January holiday period and dipping to their lowest point in the mid-winter months, when the World Cup would be taking place.

Poorer areas most affected
The statistics also showed that most contact crimes in South Africa took place in the country's townships - not in the hotels, stadiums and tourist spots where most visitors would spend their time in 2010.

"Contact crimes" cover the police categories of murder, attempted murder, rape, assault with intent to do serious bodily harm, common assault, indecent assault, aggravated robbery - including street muggings, car hijackings, house break-ins and bank robberies - and common robbery.

According to the latest official figures, there were decreases in most of these categories of crime in South Africa in 2006/07 - but increases in murders and aggravated robberies.

"The statistics are not saying crime is taking place in Loftus Versveld, nor do they say at Ellis Park nor Green Point in Cape Town, they say Khayelitsha," Selebi said.

He said the police knew how many people were expected in the country for the 2010 World Cup, where they would sleep, the routes they would travel on and the places they were likely to visit.

No South African policeman or women would be taking leave in June 2010, Selebi added - there would, on the contrary, be additional police officers and reservists on the job.

The bigger picture
At the same time, Selebi stressed, the police aimed to make South Africa safe for all of its people, all of the time - and the statistics gave them basis for responding to crime tendencies when they emerged.

Thus, the police would be channeling more resources to areas identified as needing them. This applied not only to broader areas - Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape accounted for about 62% of serious crimes in 2006/07 - but also to specific locations across the country.

Selebi noted that there were high levels of crime in newer residential areas, such as the Garsfontein suburb of Pretoria.

"There are higher levels of crime in Garsfontein than you would have in Attridgeville," the commissioner said. "This is because there is no social cohesion there, and people don't know each other because everybody is new."

Source: BuaNews

Crime stats were released this week, didnt look very promising, with each province reporting an increase. I think its really dumb that the Government feel that since June/July were not heavily affected by crime, that every year June/ July will be crime free.

South Africa: Crime Trends Point to a Safe World Cup


BuaNews (Tshwane)

That's all the ANC cares about. But the statistics are very grim and confirmed the fears that I had that the crime situation in SA continues to spiral out of control. They need to GET RID of Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula and National Police Minister Jackie Selebi. They are both duds who cannot do the job of fighting crime in SA.

SA TODAY

July 6, 2007

Crime: the perception, the denial and the reality

The release this week by the SAPS of the crime statistic for 2006/7, and the story they tell about the state of our country right now, is an occasion for all South Africans to take immediate stock. At stake is nothing less than our chance of bringing into being the prosperous and free society to which we all aspire.

This is no exaggerated claim. If we consider two related aspects of the statistics – the society they describe, and government’s response to that description – we have every reason to be concerned about the future.

Firstly, let me make a few remarks about the figures. There can be no doubt, however much government’s office-bearers try to play them down, the statistics portray a society in which crime is endemic, violent and unrelenting. Crime increased in 56% of all categories[1], most notably murder, culpable homicide, robbery, car theft, stock theft, and drug-related crimes.

Nor is any geographic part of South Africa, nor any specific community spared. While crime is highest in the cities, attacks in rural areas have increased by 25%. Affluent neighbourhoods have suffered double and even triple figure increases in aggravated robberies – for example, Sandton (42%), Randburg (133%), and Midrand (90%) – while in the words of Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula, poorer communities “experience more violent crimes than wealthier ones.”[2]

Alarming as these statistics are, several commentators have pointed out that they do not tell the full story. The Democratic Alliance contends the statistics indicate how many crimes are reported – usually for insurance purposes – rather than those that actually occur. As our Safety and Security spokesperson, Dianne Kohler Barnard MP, points out, it is likely that personal attacks are being significantly understated, because so many citizens have lost confidence in the police’s ability to apprehend the criminals.

Before I consider in more detail what these (admittedly skewed) statistics reveal about our society, it is important to note how government has responded. Bluntly put: there seems no real sense of urgency or crisis at the highest levels.

In releasing the figures, the Safety and Security Minister and Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi tried to juggle some figures to suggest decreasing incidents in some categories. Commissioner Selebi – a man whose own standing has been compromised by his links to well-known alleged criminals – told us he was “not lying awake every night” worrying about the crisis. [3]

Government’s bland response is at one with its usual method for dealing with crime: the overall aim is to play down the extent of the crisis. To this end, the following strategies are deployed.

First, figures are juggled so as to suggest that some categories of crime are diminishing, and that this is cause for satisfaction. Given the overall crime context – its rate, frequency and violence – this tactic is akin to pointing out a favourable view from a few selected deckchairs, while the Titanic as a whole is sinking fast.

Second, government’s strategy is to displace responsibility for crime prevention to the citizens themselves. So we were told this week that most misdemeanours are carried out by people known to the victims, or over long weekends when people drink too much, or in places where the police struggle to find access – as if there are no-go areas of South Africa. For example: Western Cape Community Safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane dismissed those who stone cars on the N2 Highway near Cape Town, as being “hard to catch as they disappear into informal settlements.”[4]

The third strategy – and this one finally emanates from the President’s office – is to lay ultimate blame for crime on sociological factors, in particular South Africa’s traumatic apartheid past. The President set the tone in his State of the Nation address this year: “These figures tell the very obvious story that by far the bulk of violence against the person in our society occurs in specific social circumstances, within communities that are poor, marginalised and afflicted by an almost irreversible sense of hopelessness.”

Certainly, there is much truth in this view. And we do not under-estimate the challenge of confronting the crime epidemic. But from government, we do not merely seek explanations; we look for concrete, workable and urgent solutions. It is here that our rulers are letting down the law-abiding majority.

There is a simple principle that government is undermining in its dealings with crime: that of ministerial responsibility. It is common cause in democratic societies that those charged with public office must be held to account if they fail in their mandate. In South Africa, non-performance is not attended by dismissal or censure. Commissioner Selebi’s boast about his friendship with top alleged crime bosses underscores the complete absence of a sense of public accountability.

It is an irony that incentives for performance – which is a principle of the open, opportunity society which the DA heartily endorses – is one of the new aspects of public-sector employees’ remuneration and reward. It is time this principle is applied at the highest levels of government.

For non-accountability and non-responsibility are part and parcel of the closed patronage society our government has put in place, and it has infected every level of governance. In Gauteng, Community Safety MEC Firoz Cachalia last year declared he would resign if the public is not happy with his crime-busting efforts. [5] He subsequently maintained he was misquoted, and stays on in office in spite of the crime spike in his province.

Likewise, in the Western Cape, Premier Ebrahim Rasool promised in his State of the Province address a “crackdown plan on crime”. Crime has risen sharply; the plan has faded away; he and his ineffectual Community Safety MEC stay on.

The runaway crime in South Africa offers abundant proof of the denialism that characterises the Mbeki Presidency. As with the other critical areas of our national life where government has failed – the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the meltdown in Zimbabwe, and the state’s diminished capacity to deliver basic services – our rulers prefer to regard the problem as perceptual, not actual.

Rather than confront the facts, it seeks rather to take refuge in the failures of the past; or to list the shortcomings of the victims; or to hide behind vaguely-worded promises for renewal.

Certainly, behind the reality of crime lies the legacy of the country we have all inherited. For nearly fifty years, the law under apartheid became synonymous in many of our peoples’ eyes with injustice; now, it seems, all laws are suspect.

A conspicuous sign of withering faith in both government’s capacity and in the security forces, is the disturbing rise in vigilantism across South Africa – a fact highlighted in the SAPS report. Increasingly, communities – such as in Lentegeur, Mitchell’s Plain, last month – are taking the law into their own hands, administering rough justice to alleged perpetrators. This should be a loud wake-up call to government both to take charge and to listen to the very people for whom it likes to claim it speaks.

It is also true that years of government-sanctioned racial preferment robbed most South Africans of their life chances. For many people this perpetuated not only discrimination, deprivation and poverty, but a deep-seated sense of hopelessness if not victimhood.

But it is equally true that, as long as we keep blaming the past for our failings, we will not be able to confront and overcome our gravest challenges. It is imperative that all of us seize our responsibilities, whether we are parents who must raise and protect our children, adults who must obey the laws, report wrongdoers, and aid the security personnel as far as we can to carry out their duties.

It is not just a case of throwing yet more money at the problem, as government periodically announces. We need to pool our best ideas, and be receptive to constructive and proactive strategies that engage all levels of society in the battle.

For example: in Cape Town, the Council is launching a carefully-crafted draft strategy on substance abuse – a notable cause of crime - while planning to spend at least R10-million over and above what is allocated to existing programmes. The money is earmarked for four outpatient rehabilitation centres, situated in areas hardest hit by drug abuse.

The DA-led Council also plans to revive a specialised narcotics unit within the Metro Police. Meanwhile, we are encouraging our citizens in this city to be more aware of their alcohol use before driving, by voluntarily submitting to testing at potential high-risk sites like Cape Town International Airport, sports clubs and other venues.

It is early days yet, and because of all the public participation required, our strategy will only go through Council by the end of October. Time will tell if it will succeed. But it goes beyond words to concrete action, which over time should bear fruit within our very limited policing mandate (to police by-laws and traffic infringements).

To conclude: if the latest statistics force us to rethink and to act, then even government’s inadequate response can become part of the solution. We must heed the warnings of business think-tank AfriForum: crime perpetrates a “culture of fear…it holds back business opportunities, encourages emigration and causes a deteriorating quality of life in the country.”[6]

It is time for all of us – state and citizenry included – to renew our commitment to a prosperous and free society and to work as one to bring down crime. One day, I am convinced that our children will hold us all to account.




[1] All figures, unless otherwise indicated, are drawn for the SAPS Report.

[2] Quoted in The Cape Times, July 4 2007.

[3] Quoted in The Citizen, July 4 2007.

[4] Cape Times, ibid.

[5] Eyewitness News, “MEC will resign if crime plan fails”, 12 July 2006

[6] Cape Times, ibid.

there is no better way to explain this issue than the way Helen Zille has done. I just hope that those who are in positions of influence will see past their political differences and confront crime and its major causes. I have said this before, Zille symbolizes a ray of hope in SA politics, I just hope that South Africans will affirm her by voting for DA in the next elections come 2009.

Politics is unfair game. Zille is saying all these good things but in the poor black of Cape Town there's no evidence of service delivery. Yes in the city and the surrounding surbubs she has done a good job and I applaud her for that. What I think she must do is to set the whole of Cape Town as an example fo what she's gonna do for the rest of South Africa. She must encourage investments in the poor areas of CT so that jobs can be created for the people. She must be involved with the communities of these areas.

To be honest I must say that she's the best thing that has ever happened to CT. I hated Mfeketo. I respect our President and the ruling party but they have shown lack of integrity when coming to crime. The President have said that crime is not out of control but he builds a R90 000.00 wall around his house, Jacky Selebi have openly told the public that he is a friend to the mafia but he is still the police commisioner, Nqakula fails to perfomr but he is still in his position, members of the parliament are involvedin a travel scam but they are not fired.

Well, the past sunday's Sunday Times hav reported a decrease in crime in some of the areas of Johannesburg that Zille mentioned. They have attributed this to the new restructuring that is taking place across the police departments. They also mentioned the fact that these stats won't be reflected in the past released statistics. I must say that one of the things that I would agree with them that have been reduced is the Cash-in-Transit heists as for the couple of months I have heard not more than 5 of those..

At the end of it all Primedia have taken the first step by investing R100m in establishing the Crime Tip-Off line of which its proving to be succesfull. John Robi from 702 and Cape Talk normally gves updates of the arrests and progress of the criminal cases from this tip-off line. The good thing is that Primedia itself is doing a folloup to see if prosecution takes place. Please visit www.crimeline.co.za to learn more about this, lets help to irradicate crime.

there is no better way to explain this issue than the way Helen Zille has done. I just hope that those who are in positions of influence will see past their political differences and confront crime and its major causes. I have said this before, Zille symbolizes a ray of hope in SA politics, I just hope that South Africans will affirm her by voting for DA in the next elections come 2009.

I hope so too if race does not get in the way as it has in previous election.

Politics is unfair game. Zille is saying all these good things but in the poor black of Cape Town there's no evidence of service delivery. Yes in the city and the surrounding surbubs she has done a good job and I applaud her for that. What I think she must do is to set the whole of Cape Town as an example fo what she's gonna do for the rest of South Africa. She must encourage investments in the poor areas of CT so that jobs can be created for the people. She must be involved with the communities of these areas.

To be honest I must say that she's the best thing that has ever happened to CT. I hated Mfeketo. I respect our President and the ruling party but they have shown lack of integrity when coming to crime. The President have said that crime is not out of control but he builds a R90 000.00 wall around his house, Jacky Selebi have openly told the public that he is a friend to the mafia but he is still the police commisioner, Nqakula fails to perfomr but he is still in his position, members of the parliament are involvedin a travel scam but they are not fired.

Well, the past sunday's Sunday Times hav reported a decrease in crime in some of the areas of Johannesburg that Zille mentioned. They have attributed this to the new restructuring that is taking place across the police departments. They also mentioned the fact that these stats won't be reflected in the past released statistics. I must say that one of the things that I would agree with them that have been reduced is the Cash-in-Transit heists as for the couple of months I have heard not more than 5 of those..

At the end of it all Primedia have taken the first step by investing R100m in establishing the Crime Tip-Off line of which its proving to be succesfull. John Robi from 702 and Cape Talk normally gves updates of the arrests and progress of the criminal cases from this tip-off line. The good thing is that Primedia itself is doing a folloup to see if prosecution takes place. Please visit www.crimeline.co.za to learn more about this, lets help to irradicate crime.


Great points made Pule! Thanks for the info regarding Crime Tip-Off and Radio 702.

Politics is unfair game. Zille is saying all these good things but in the poor black of Cape Town there's no evidence of service delivery. Yes in the city and the surrounding surbubs she has done a good job and I applaud her for that. What I think she must do is to set the whole of Cape Town as an example fo what she's gonna do for the rest of South Africa. She must encourage investments in the poor areas of CT so that jobs can be created for the people. She must be involved with the communities of these areas.

To be honest I must say that she's the best thing that has ever happened to CT. I hated Mfeketo. I respect our President and the ruling party but they have shown lack of integrity when coming to crime. The President have said that crime is not out of control but he builds a R90 000.00 wall around his house, Jacky Selebi have openly told the public that he is a friend to the mafia but he is still the police commisioner, Nqakula fails to perfomr but he is still in his position, members of the parliament are involvedin a travel scam but they are not fired.

Well, the past sunday's Sunday Times hav reported a decrease in crime in some of the areas of Johannesburg that Zille mentioned. They have attributed this to the new restructuring that is taking place across the police departments. They also mentioned the fact that these stats won't be reflected in the past released statistics. I must say that one of the things that I would agree with them that have been reduced is the Cash-in-Transit heists as for the couple of months I have heard not more than 5 of those..

At the end of it all Primedia have taken the first step by investing R100m in establishing the Crime Tip-Off line of which its proving to be succesfull. John Robi from 702 and Cape Talk normally gves updates of the arrests and progress of the criminal cases from this tip-off line. The good thing is that Primedia itself is doing a folloup to see if prosecution takes place. Please visit www.crimeline.co.za to learn more about this, lets help to irradicate crime.

no evidence of service delivery?
why did zille have to roll out the multi-million rand service delivery plan to service shacks in the poorest areas of cape town? why was this never done before? if anything zille is THE most involved mayor in terms of her correspondence with the poorest of poor in CT.

her work in those areas is simply unrivalled by any mayor in cape town's history.

no evidence of service delivery?
why did zille have to roll out the multi-million rand service delivery plan to service shacks in the poorest areas of cape town? why was this never done before? if anything zille is THE most involved mayor in terms of her correspondence with the poorest of poor in CT.

her work in those areas is simply unrivalled by any mayor in cape town's history.

Agreed. I think it's a joke when the ANC accuses her of being anti-poor and racist when in fact she has the struggle creditials in the past and has applied that in her position as mayor. When compared to other post-apartheid mayors, what has Peter Marais done, what has Gerald Morkel done, and what has Nomaindia Mfeketo done? The first one was a baffoon, the second didn't do much and the THIRD ran a crooked administration that did NOTHING for the poor of Cape Town. I don't know too much about the CMC mayor Rev. William Bantam who served before 2000 but I doubt there is any previous post-apartheid mayor of Cape Town that can even come close to what Helen Zille has done in her first 16-months in office.

Police at a recent UN event in South Africa

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1112/753991370_9bd8ad73ce_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1211/753140261_ab98b6e333_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1283/753141715_9865bc5eef_o.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1263/753142049_0ae515edeb_o.jpg

i dont get it..nyanga is the murder capital, durban central is the robbery capital, etc etc why is there no large scale police presence in the area...i want to see those war vehicles roaming the area, bulldozing drug hot spots..its time to declare war on criminals and crime.

Yea with all those facilities....u should be able to control crimes in SA...they need to learn from America.....they need to go undercover and do some stings....arrest drug dealers.
But Colombia is worst than South Africa anyway so dont feel all alone.

Have you guys ever woken up fearing for your lives, thinking that today might be your last? I only have six weeks to go before I return home but I am so afraid I won't make it till then. Everyday I step onto the train wondering if today is the day. I don't feel safe in London but I never felt that way at home. I know the stats are bad but I am of the opinion that this is just a transition phase. If you look throughout history, no transition to a new order has been without bloodshed. We averted civil war but the policies that created our criminals (even though they are now banished) still have a direct effect on our society. You can hire 20000 more cops to patrol the streets but if a criminal wants to steal he will find a way. The only weapon we have against crime is a proper education, something that the vast majority of South Africans were denied access to not so long ago. I am really positive about the future because the only people who can mess up our future are South Africans. We don't have foreign enemies who want to destroy our society like Britain has, our own people need to be taught what effect their actions are having on everyone in the country. I know of a few democracy's who are hundreds of years old but are still coming to grips with the complexities of such a society. We are only 13 years old, a child, lets not forget that.

i dont get it..nyanga is the murder capital, durban central is the robbery capital, etc etc why is there no large scale police presence in the area...i want to see those war vehicles roaming the area, bulldozing drug hot spots..its time to declare war on criminals and crime.

LOL, it wouldn't take me 6 months to clampdown on criminals even in Johannesburg and i would be coming real hard on them. To catch criminals in SA, you need undercover operations that are very well organized and able to infiltrate most of the gangs. Most of the violent crimes are done by the same groups who go from place to place inflicting terror through house burglary and car jackings. And the funniest thing, its easy to see criminals, they typically go in groups, you need 3 or more people to hijack a car. The guys that once hijacked me were driving an old BMW 5 series and they were 6 guys in the car.

If Midrand was well policed, it would have been pretty easy to see them driving around, because they actually went round and round before they decided to pounce on me. Even the street where they got us, it is one of the main arterial routes that links to a shopping centre and they took my car to a construction site of a new block of flats to hide it. why not infiltrate the construction sites used to hide these hijacked cars for example. There are only X amount of exits out of Midrand and only so many new complexes under construction and if you manage to close these, then you are likely to catch most criminals who are trying to hijack cars in Midrand. There are so many things that can be done to resolve this and i am just surprised why these aren't being done. Perhaps i must start my own undercover operation. LOL

i think SA can do a shitload more to improve the crime situation like kulani said but the question is: does it really want to? If it did, things would be happening (like the 2010 world cup construction) (ie more camera's, lighting, patrols etc etc but I dont actually see anything (except when foreigners are in the country and the police go nuts and overprotect). I think it does not suit certain people in top positions ahem police commisioner ahem (who have links with crime bosses) and security related industries...

I am a little into conspiracy theories (and I may be wrong here ). While I agree crime is completely unacceptable and shocking, on top of this, further "fear" is being spread around like a disease via email, tv, radio etc and for the public - it seems like private security companies are the only ones that can cure it...and they want that "fear" to stay...

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=180&art_id=nw20070712092719252C774239

Mossel Bay's tourism department on Thursday said they attributed the area's minimal level of crime to the town's low unemployment rate.

This comes after recent crime figures, where Mossel Bay recorded the lowest in the country.

"This confirms the reality of Mossel Bay as a safe place to live and a safe destination for tourists," said Louis Harris, a spokesperson for the department.

Statistics confirm that there were no murders, hijackings, or business robberies from August 2006.

"The low rate of unemployment is due to a very healthy economy, excellent work by the local police and a responsible sense of community amongst residents."

By contrast, other similarly-sized small towns reported a much higher incidence of crime.

Stellenbosch, reported 17 murders during the same period whilst Knysna reported 48 and Margate, 37.

"The low crime rate is not only important for community spirit but is an enormously important selling point for all destinations around the world."

"We are thankful that we can now go to international trade shows with additional confidence of knowing that it's true when we say that Mossel Bay is the safest place to visit."

Harris said that the department paid particular respect to the South African Police.

"We want to thank the SAPS and assure them that we will continue to work closely with them to ensure the safety of Mossel Bay's residents and visitors." - Sapa

I wonder what Mossel Bay is doing that other municipalities in the area aren't?

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=180&art_id=nw20070712092719252C774239



I wonder what Mossel Bay is doing that other municipalities in the area aren't?

Good point. Like many towns in the Western Cape, Mossel Bay's town council is governed by an opposition-led multi-party coalition that has a DA mayor, Maria Ferreira, and an Icosa deputy mayor, Harry Leventhal. The coalition consists of the DA with 10 seats, Icosa with 3 seats, and ID and ACDP with 1 each, while the ANC in opposition has 8 seats. Thus the DA-led coalition has a commanding majority of 15 seats out of 23 in the town council. Before the 2006 local government elections the town was governed by the ANC, which took over in 2004 from the DA, which previously had a majority before floorcrossings and a ward by-election.

i think SA can do a shitload more to improve the crime situation like kulani said but the question is: does it really want to? If it did, things would be happening (like the 2010 world cup construction) (ie more camera's, lighting, patrols etc etc but I dont actually see anything (except when foreigners are in the country and the police go nuts and overprotect). I think it does not suit certain people in top positions ahem police commisioner ahem (who have links with crime bosses) and security related industries...

I am a little into conspiracy theories (and I may be wrong here ). While I agree crime is completely unacceptable and shocking, on top of this, further "fear" is being spread around like a disease via email, tv, radio etc and for the public - it seems like private security companies are the only ones that can cure it...and they want that "fear" to stay...

Have you ever thought that it might be a link between the security company owners and the media? What if they using the media to spread the virus so that they could make money.

Even though I do not agree with government's crime fighting strategy, I still believe that the war against crime can be won.

Primedia reoprted that 28 people have being caught under the past 2 weeks with the help of crimeline. I think we also need to take initiative and ask our helpers at home if they know of any person around the locations who are causing havoc and SMS primedia with the information. I think the service should also be in different languages.

One thing I have realised about SAPS is that the reseves are the ones who are working as required and they doing a good job. In september/november thsi year police vehicle tracking will be deployed to police cars in Gauteng and other provinces will follow later. I'm sure we are gonna see progress.

no evidence of service delivery?
why did zille have to roll out the multi-million rand service delivery plan to service shacks in the poorest areas of cape town? why was this never done before? if anything zille is THE most involved mayor in terms of her correspondence with the poorest of poor in CT.

her work in those areas is simply unrivalled by any mayor in cape town's history.

What service did she deliver? What you talking about is the same as here in Jozi where all these shacks have got Electricity and water but people are killed by fire and so forth. When you compare Zille and Masondo, you will realise that Masondo caters for all and the city and the poor locations of Joburg are growing at the same pace. But compare CT and Langa, Khayelisha, those are far way different and it reflect the old apartheid style were the rich are taken care of and others are ignored.

I appriciate the fact that she has now started to also look at the poor parts of CT.

I don't see how Mossel Bay being DA ruled has anything to do with it. Other towns on the Garden Route are also DA ruled.

I don't see how Mossel Bay being DA ruled has anything to do with it. Other towns on the Garden Route are also DA ruled.

That's true and some of these towns have high crime rates.

US, SA to share crime fighting initiatives
Barbara Cole
July 16 2007 at 10:25AM

THE managing director of the KZN Business Against Crime will soon be on his way to America to learn all about crime-prevention initiatives - and to tell police there about successes back at home.

"I do believe we can learn from each other," said Kelvin Glen, who has been chosen by the US Embassy to take part in an International Visitors Programme, designed to expose potential leaders to their American professional counterparts and to American institutions, policies, culture and values.

But it won't be all boardroom talk, said Glen, who will be meeting government and law enforcement agencies in Washington, Chicago, Miami and New York City as well as talking to the Chambers of Commerce, business leadership, the corporate sector and non-governmental organisations.




"I will be going out with the police on the ground to see their challenges," he said.

He will also be working at operational level with community policing forums, 911 call centres and NGOs.

"I want to form long-lasting relationships and share best practices.. A crime-free and stable South Africa is of keen interest to the international community and an investment-friendly environment encouraging economic growth is high on our agenda," said Glen.

He leaves on his "demanding, educational and exciting" trip on August 9.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1175/768994159_a663a1aadb_b.jpg

Nedbank corner... that is Joburg, right? Cool pic... I like that police van, quite different from those we have here.

Nedbank corner... that is Joburg, right? Cool pic... I like that police van, quite different from those we have here.

Yes, that is indeed downtown Johannesburg.

More like Braamfontein

looks like some new Johannesburg Metro Police Dept recruits.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1118/962988956_163e5b0c8d_o.jpg

looks like some new Johannesburg Metro Police Dept recruits.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1118/962988956_163e5b0c8d_o.jpg

Well they'll soon be reincorporated into the SAPS due to the ANC government's obsession with centralized power and it's plan to do away with metro police departments. The end result will be a crime rate even worse than now as both Charles Nquakula and Jakie Selebi have failed in their jobs of leading the SAPS and providing security to SA.

No Mosi, it hasn't been agreed yet and all other parties are not in favour of it. But if it get approved then we are in for a shock as we willl then have to walk around wearing bullet-proofs as crime is gonna be the worst ever.

It's amazing how thirst for power can take politicians to such stupid and dangerous decisions.. let's just hope it doesn't get approved.

Metro Police Vehicle at Renault's F1's Roadshow.
http://i.pbase.com/g6/81/602581/2/83296013.1ilNXOt0.jpg

The crime situation in South Africa is largely due to incompetence in the national police service. Once the ANC admits this and acknowledge that we are not living in a normal society as far as crime is concerned, then we will be on our way to resolving this problem.

How can we allow criminals to take control of our cities. Even airports are infested with criminals now and people are being followed to their homes and robbed there from airports. What the fuck is this, i really think communities should actually rise up and take charge of crime fighting until the ANC is prepared to solve this. No one should be telling us not to take the law in our hands, until they can show that they are competent enough to protect the law abiding citizens of this country. I was in Ghana, a very safe country in all of Africa and even there the police barricade roads at night and check everyone, why can't they do this in the key areas of SA. And what is the intelligence doing in all of this, how come they are not getting all the gangs that are trolling suburbs and terrorizing people and lock them up. I am even tired of having to explain to foreign tourists what the fuck is going on on this.

young and up and coming trouble

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1250/983129394_c291f786f0_b.jpg

The crime situation in South Africa is largely due to incompetence in the national police service. Once the ANC admits this and acknowledge that we are not living in a normal society as far as crime is concerned, then we will be on our way to resolving this problem.

How can we allow criminals to take control of our cities. Even airports are infested with criminals now and people are being followed to their homes and robbed there from airports. What the fuck is this, i really think communities should actually rise up and take charge of crime fighting until the ANC is prepared to solve this. No one should be telling us not to take the law in our hands, until they can show that they are competent enough to protect the law abiding citizens of this country. I was in Ghana, a very safe country in all of Africa and even there the police barricade roads at night and check everyone, why can't they do this in the key areas of SA. And what is the intelligence doing in all of this, how come they are not getting all the gangs that are trolling suburbs and terrorizing people and lock them up. I am even tired of having to explain to foreign tourists what the fuck is going on on this.

I share your sentiments Kulani.

Barbara Cole

August 07 2007 at 07:47PM

Crime rate must be halved by 2010 "or we will have a public relations disaster on our hands", the KwaZulu-Natal Growth Coalition was told on Tuesday.

Crime was the "big unknown factor and potential spoiler for 2010", John Barton, the co-chairperson of the Growth Coalition, told a breakfast meeting for 100 top businessmen in Durban.

The Growth Coalition is a public and private partnership which aims to bring the provinces, government and business leaders together.

Having held a series of one-on-one interviews with many business leaders in the service, banking, construction, manufacturing, utilities and primary and secondary manufacturing industries recently, Barton said that "the recent national statistics on crime left us very, very flat and disappointed from a progress point of view".

Many leaders felt that too much attention had been given to the denial and to challenging the numbers "when what was clearly needed was a much wider acceptance of the gravity of the situation at a national level, with a call for real strong leadership to step forward".

The issues of crime and corruption was high on the list for many business leaders, who pointed out that there was a significant additional cost of doing business because of the high level of crime and fraud.

The high crime levels were also a definite deterrent to overseas investment.

Barton said South Africa was rapidly running out of infrastructure, listing some of the concerns as the need for a new fuel pipeline to Johannesburg, the diminishing capacity and increasing inefficiency at Durban and Richards Bay ports, the inadequacy of road infrastructure and the shortage of rail capacity and rolling stock.

"In some ways, this is good news because it is a clear sign of past positive sustainable growth. But business is worried."

He said one industry leader had told him that his company had been desperately seeking industrial land for a supplier park around Durban for several years, yet despite many assurances, he had yet to be given any firm commitment.

The R35-million multi-national business had the potential to grow to R45-billion... "however without the critically needed industrial land, this growth opportunity will go elsewhere along with an estimated 2 000 additional skilled jobs", he said.


This article was originally published on page 3 of Daily News on August 07, 2007

SADC police prepares for 2010 World Cup in South Africa
Maseru (Lesotho) Lesotho’s Police Chief Malejaka Letooane Tuesday told the media here that police in the Southern Africa have structures in place aimed at preventing crime during the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa.

Letooane was addressing a press conference in Maseru on her return from the annual general meeting of Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) held in Zambia this past week.

“With the upcoming of 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the police have agreed to work together to fight human trafficking, illegal migrants and drug abuse in the region,” she said.

Letooane said the Lusaka meeting focused on these three areas because they are believed to be the major challenges that are likely to be encountered during the world football extravaganza.

SARPCCO is an official forum comprising all police chiefs in Southern Africa, set up in 1995 at a conference of police chiefs in Zimbabwe.

SARPCCO groups Lesotho, Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=180&art_id=nw20070807151508401C996079

Limpopo is the country's safest province, the SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) said on Tuesday.

It had the lowest rate of murders, rapes and armed robberies, according to a study based on police statistics released in Polokwane.

Limpopo is also one of South Africa's poorest provinces with a very high rate of unemployment and massive influx of Zimbabwean refugees.

The SAIRR's Kerwin Lebone said the statistics questioned the much-cited arguments that South Africa's high crime rates were a function of poverty and unemployment, and that crimes were committed by foreigners.

In 2006/07 Limpopo's murder rate was 14,1 murders per 100 000 people. That was significantly lower than the national average of 40.5/100 000.

The Western Cape led the country's murder ranking for the second year in a row with a rate of 60.7/100 000. One was thus about four times more likely to be murdered in the Western Cape than in Limpopo.

At 80.6/100 000 the rape rate in Limpopo was well below the national average of 111/100 000. The Northern Cape had the worst rape statistics in South Africa with a rate of 142.8/100 000.

Limpopo's armed robbery rate of 56.7/100 000 was only one-tenth of Gauteng's, which led the national trends with 574.6/100 000. - Sapa

:cheer: Hosi katekisa wemuLimpopo :cheer:

That's my home province, Limpopo. HirakataShi, nice try, almost. Who taught you shangaan, that's my language? I am from Giyani.

The full sentence is "HOSI KATEKISA WENA LIMPOPO"

Cape Town crime blitz nets 161 people

By Caryn Dolley

More than 150 arrests in just over a week have been made in central Cape Town as co-operation between the SA Police Service (SAPS) and Central City Improvement District (CCID) begins to pay off.

Tasso Evangelinos, the CCID's chief operations officer, said 161 people had been arrested in the period, ending last Sunday.

Arrests had been for assault, possession of illegal firearms, motor vehicle theft, driving under the influence of alcohol and other crimes.

'We're following crime trends'
"I don't have the exact number yet, but that figure should be much higher by now because we're making more arrests every day," Evangelinos said.

"We've been working with the SAPS and it is making a difference. We've established an excellent working relationship that is mutually beneficial and which can be seen in these figures.

"Some weeks we make more arrests than others, but this recent figure is higher than usual, which I attribute to our working relationship with police."

Seventeen of the arrests were for drug-related crimes.

"That involved one of many undercover operations we have going on. We're following crime trends, looking out for things we've picked up before and members of the public are phoning in with information."

The CCID team comprised more than 100 foot patrol officers and six vehicles that patrolled the central city day and night.

Evangelinos said 16 more officers had been on patrol since the beginning of July as the mounted guards were giving their horses a break. "The bad weather could prove dangerous to the horses. When it's wet they may fall."

caryn.dolley@inl.co.za



* This article was originally published on page 4 of The Cape Times on August 10, 2007

Cape Times

Published on the Web by IOL on 2007-08-10 02:36:00
© Independent Online 2005. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this article in good faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information it contains.

That's my home province, Limpopo. HirakataShi, nice try, almost. Who taught you shangaan, that's my language? I am from Giyani.

The full sentence is "HOSI KATEKISA WENA LIMPOPO"

I didn't realise Tsonga was similar to Venda, that is the language was typing in.

I didn't realise Tsonga was similar to Venda, that is the language was typing in.

Tsonga and Venda has very little in common except that the Shangaans (people who speak Tsonga) and Vendas are neighbours who live next to each other in the Limpopo province for decades. So generally a lot of Vendas can speak Tsonga and the other way round.

You would say something like "Mudzimu o xxxx Limpopo"

xxxx means i don't know how to say Katekisa in Venda

South Africa: FBI Trains Police Ahead of 2010


Email This Page

Print This Page

Visit The Publisher's Site




BuaNews (Tshwane)

29 August 2007
Posted to the web 29 August 2007

Themba Gadebe
Johannesburg

Johannesburg law enforcers are receiving training from American experts to handle terrorism financing and money laundering, ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The American members of the world renowned Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) are giving a weeklong training to Johannesburg Metro Police and the members of the South African Police Service.


Speaking to BuaNews, the Michael Martinel, Supervisory Special Agent of the Washington's FBI said it was important to prepare South Africa to respond to these challenges.

"We are here to give the City of Johannesburg some training on terrorism financing and money laundering in anticipation of the world cup so that they are in a better position to respond should such challenges arise," he said.

Mr Martinel however commended his class of 31 students for their intelligence in security issues.

"I have been giving training to a lot of people but this is the most intelligent class. I am actually learning more from them," he told

Metro Police Spokesperson, Inspector Edna Mamonyane said the FBI had been providing training to their officers for the past two years.

"Our officers have been trained in the fields of street surviving, investigations, handling of the most dangerous criminals and explosives in the FBI Academy in Botswana," she said.

She told BuaNews that officers are being equipped with these skills not only for the 2010 World Cup but even beyond the tournament.

Chief of the Johannesburg Metro Police, Chris Ngcobo said about 4000 officers would be trained by 2009.

He said the issue of skills and qualifications was becoming important of the law enforcers, saying basic writing skills were a challenge for the officers.

"Like Americans we want our officers to have degrees and become fluent in English. We want competent officers even in driving. A police chase should not result in an accident," he said.

He emphasised the importance of investigation, saying criminals are walking scot-free in courts due to insufficient investigations and evidence.

"We are not getting more convictions as we should because you'll find that there are some stages that were not followed. We must have the evidence that will work in court because without evidence, the courts releases the criminals and the public thinks it is the corrupt police officers that releases them," he said.

Johannesburg will be the focus of the 2010 FIFA World Cup having two stadiums (Soccer City and Ellis Park) that will be the stage for the world Cup games.

The Soccer City, near the FIFA offices and the 2010 Local Organising Committee will host the opening and closing matches of the world greatest sporting event.

Relevant Links

Southern Africa
Crime and Corruption
Soccer
South Africa
Sport
United States, Canada and Africa



The city will, upon ratification by FIFA, host the International Broadcast Centre, the hub of all broadcasting on the 2010 spectacular.

FIFA is yet to ratify South African Cabinet's approval of the city to be the venue for the World Cup International Broadcast Centre (IBC) during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

The IBC will be the nerve centre for the world cup and media streaming would be organised, packaged and sent out from the facility to over 30 billion viewers worldwide

http://www.saps.gov.za/_images/units/police_railway%2013.JPG

http://www.saps.gov.za/_images/10111/10111_4.jpg

http://www.saps.gov.za/_images/10111/10111_1.jpg

http://www.saps.gov.za/_images/airwing2/chopper9.jpg

http://www.saps.gov.za/_images/10111/10111_11.jpg

http://www.saps.gov.za/_images/border/sea/sea2.jpg

http://www.saps.gov.za/_images/misch/horse1.jpg

nice pix durby

bump for more pix of SA police.....its cool mike u close that other thread but it was a reasonable discussion.
But no more politics....post pix of SA military too.

Posh cars and impressive demos by the police during morning parades wont fight crime. Expose corrupt police and publicly shame them. Increasing police visibilty on our roads and streets will help minimise criminal actvities. Stop and search suspicious cars and equiping police with number plates recognition equipments might help greatly. Security in
in our houses are in the hands of private security firms which are so expensive to afford. More ccv cameras in cities and towns are required to reassure shoppers and tourists.I was really shocked last time i was home that some police stations operate only during office hours.

yo mike do not close this thread....we have to address all issues facing SA..for the upcoming world cup....i made this thread along time ago....showing that i didnt just make the other thread just for fun....let us address issue of security with common sense not political and bashing any country.

South Africa’s World Cup security blueprint wins FIFA approval


CAPE TOWN: South Africa’s 2010 World Cup security blueprint has won approval from soccer’s governing body but needs to be fined-tuned ahead of the showpiece event, FIFA said on Friday.

FIFA has raised safety and transport as key concerns for South Africa, which is battling some of the world’s highest crime levels and perceptions that it might be too dangerous for visitors.

Delia Fischer, a South Africa-based spokeswoman for FIFA, said the organisation’s security experts had recently reviewed South Africa’s 2010 safety and security strategy, which covered terror threats, hooliganism and crime.

“This document was reviewed by our security experts.

“And they came to the conclusion that it builds a reassuring basis for the security of the event,” Fischer said via email.

However, she said it was important that the “conceptual paper” was translated into action and fine-tuned, with next year’s FIFA Confederations Cup expected to provide valuable lessons.

Fischer said South African authorities had liaised with their international counterparts, including security officials at English Premier League stadiums, and would rely on this expertise to deal with potentially troublesome spectators.

Hooliganism is not a part of the soccer scene in South Africa, though there have been some random incidents of fan violence.

Director Peter Jacobs, the police’s 2010 security co-ordinator for the Western Cape region, confirmed special teams would be deployed at stadiums to target troublemakers.

He said authorities would also focus on dealing with credit card fraud and counterfeit goods as thousands of tourists were expected to flood to South Africa’s tourist capital Cape Town, which hosts a semi-final and other 2010 games.

“We are convinced that we will provide a safe and secure 2010,” Jacobs said.

Despite the high crime, tourism growth in South Africa outpaced the global average of five per cent in the first quarter of 2008, surging to 11.9 after a record 9.1 million tourist arrivals last year, authorities said. €” Reuters

Crime crackdown nets 250
19/10/2008 16:06 - (SA)

Johannesburg - Police have arrested 245 people in Soweto for various cases which included murder, rape, possession of unlicenced firearms, stolen vehicles and malicious damage to property, Gauteng police said on Sunday.

Inspector Kay Makobele said the arrests were made over the weekend.

He said 40 of these arrests were for drinking alcohol on the streets and in public.

Makobele said the suspects would appear in the Protea, Lenasia and Roodepoort magistrate's courts on Monday.

- SAPA

We had an interesting incident at home last night. Some dude trying to steal a vespa jumped over our wall to escape the cops, but he got a nice little surprise in the form of 2 dogs attacking him. So he tried to jump over the wall again but pierced his feet on the spikes and the cops nabbed him xD Good times...

x-D good times indeed. we need a super hero in SA 'the anti-tsots'

Yea with all those facilities....u should be able to control crimes in SA...they need to learn from America.....they need to go undercover and do some stings....arrest drug dealers.
But Colombia is worst than South Africa anyway so dont feel all alone.

Not true, crime in Colombia has decreased big time in the last 6 years. Medellin which used to be the murder capital of the world and home to the largest drug cartel on the planet now has a murder rate of 29 per 100,000. Still high but not what it was like during the 90's. Bogota's murder rate as of 2005 was 23 per 100,000, thats a 71% drop from 1995. South Africa should look at Colombia's fight against crime to see how one can have great improvements in a matter of a couple of years.

^^ the problem we having in SA is police precense. In ohannesburg, we got Metro Police and the SAPS but you hardly see them walking the streets. Crime is perpetrated by repeat offenders because of our weak justice system but things are changing even thought its at a slow pace.

i am really impressed with police presence in the durban CBD...
from field street, down west street and anton lembede street up until the point/beach area.

you see them in pairs at every block, i dont have stats on how this has affected the crime rates in the CBD, but its a start.

It's the same in Cape Town CBD. Always see police or metro police driving or walking around. Or even riding on horses :) (in greenmarket square). That why CT's CBD has the lowest crime rate out of the major metros.

Thats cool....u dont have to do this for 2010 alone but thereafter starting now.....u can use the army too during the world cup

Myi and Ed, I wish that Jozi was like your cities. A couple of weeks ago I was in Durbs and I have never felt so safe as both the Metro Police and SAPS are on horses, foot, motorbikes, bicycles and cars. I walked the CBD for more than 3 hours and I was taking pics without any worries and those ladies and gentleman are very friendly.

its about having them walk around....its a stable and consistent police force.....in the usa....hell people take it as a previledge to be a police officer.....if the world cup was being hosted in the usa...security is the last problem people will worry about.

http://estb.msn.com/i/E0/EE4D1E72D09E92E46E86E4BE8B17F.jpg
Investing in the criminal justice sector to reduce the levels of crime and to enable citizen safety is one of the policy statement identified by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel.

By Michael Hamlyn

High among the "most pressing priorities" identified by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel in the National Assembly when presenting his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement on Tuesday,

was "investing in the criminal justice sector to reduce the levels of crime and to enable citizen safety".

He told MPs: "Key priorities here are to further expand police numbers and to invest in investigative capacity, forensic laboratories and enhance IT network infrastructure."

The increase in allocations to the Safety and Security department will enable an increase in the number of police officers to more than 200,000 by 2011. There were only 131,730 police officers in 1997-1998.

The policy statement makes a point of firmly criticising the criminal justice system for its coordination failures, poor management and ineffective systems.

"In partnership with communities and business," the statement says, "government aims to restructure the criminal justice process and establish a more modern efficient and integrated system."

Funding priorities identified by the statement include the rollout of the integrated electronic docket management system - which will hopefully eliminate the plague of lost or missing dockets - a case management system, upgrading of network and associated infrastructure in all police stations, and national fingerprint identification.

Further increases in the number of policing personnel who specialise in crime prevention, detective work, crime intelligence and forensics will also receive priority.

The statement says that the capacity of prisons is being increased and there will be a greater focus on rehabilitating offenders before release.

To this end six new prisons are expected to be completed over the next three years. Government will also focus on reducing the number of detainees awaiting trial.

On the country's borders, which have been castigated as lacking any kind of control, the statement says government is taking steps to strengthen security by increasing patrol capacity and upgrading technology to prevent organised cross-border crime.

We had an interesting incident at home last night. Some dude trying to steal a vespa jumped over our wall to escape the cops, but he got a nice little surprise in the form of 2 dogs attacking him. So he tried to jump over the wall again but pierced his feet on the spikes and the cops nabbed him xD Good times...

wish he had fallen into your braai fire instead.

wish he had fallen into your braai fire instead.

:lol::lol:

some of our very few cooool and dedicated cops!


http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/1205/gr1tv7.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/2508/sapstaskforce4wl1.jpg
http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/561/2858673ri7.jpg
http://img50.imageshack.us/img50/5443/734890uj4.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9207/734888mm8.jpg
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/9572/pac2mf8.jpg
http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/2042/flyingsquad2wp8.jpg

http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/2497/sapstaskforce8qt5.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/4886/1d544a11ag2.jpg
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/6735/saps2mr5pf0.jpg
http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/8030/e89b6029al8.jpg

TO ALL DEDICATED MEMBERS OF THE SAPS SALUTE! and obviously there'll always be.....
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/5466/gatvol21dg1.jpg

http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/5033/airtest4qt9.jpg
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/6779/603715216f309b31d70qe6.jpg
http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/2689/0135147350085vy7.jpg
http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/1294/dsc5211sq1.jpg
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/2376/flyingsquad1ya4.jpg
http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2818/dsc021155b15d8fvyz5.jpg

R640m for cops in 2010
22/11/2008

Johannesburg - Nothing will be left to chance concerning security issues in the Fifa Confederations Cup in 2009 and the Soccer World Cup in 2010, Deputy Safety and Security Minister Susan Shabangu said on Saturday.

Speaking at the media briefing at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg Shabangu was joined by CEO of the 2010 Local Organising Committee Danny Jordaan and Deputy Commissioner of SA Police Services Andre Pruis.

"We have seen immense progress concerning security and in the coming two years we will see even better progress," Shabangu said.

Concerning both the confederations cup and the world cup, she said that resources would be beefed up to ensure that police expertise could be maximised.

According to Pruis, R640m would be spent on the deployment of 41 000 officers specifically for the 2010 event.

This will include 31 000 permanent members of the police force and 10 000 police reservists.

He said that recruitment and specific training for the event was also underway.

About R665m would be spent on procuring crowd control equipment, police trailers, body armour, unmanned aircrafts used for surveillance and 300 mobile cameras.

SAPS would also invest in ten mobile command centres at a cost of R6m each. These centres would mostly be based at match venues and would be able to receive live footage from aircrafts and other cameras.

Pruis said various categories of people would also be protected, including Very Important Person's and Very Very Important Person's

He said that 20 policemen from the respective team's country would also escort each team.

"We are also working with Interpol and extended officers who would be able to assist in sharing information," Pruis said.

He said that security would also be beefed up at the various ports of entry and border posts.

Pruis said terrorism would be the police's biggest problem during the events. "A terrorism operation project has been put into place, should this situation arise."

Police would use bomb disposal technology such as a mechanical robot which is able to dispose of a bomb.

"South Africa's Metro Police are also part and parcel of our security plan...this would be in terms of traffic policing, enforced by-laws, and crime prevention...we will function as one operational unit."

Speaking about general crime, he said that in the past few years, there had been a consistent decline.

This included, contact crime, house robberies, heists, hijackings, an brutal crimes.

Stop and searches would also be conducted during the world cup.

"This would be done by the South African National Defence Force," he said.

Jordaan said the events were particularly important for tourism.

"We want the expected 10 million tourists to return...Our track record is equal to anywhere in the world. We take our safety seriously," Jordaan said.

He said that in previous events which saw international teams visiting the country, not a single criminal incident was recorded.

"That is our track record."

The police are doing a great job this festive season, I just don't understand why tis fuckers don't get it that they are being cornered. May it's because they don't listen to the news.

Cops foil armed robbery at Irene Dairy Farm
23 December 2008, 06:42
By Barry Bateman

Without firing a single shot, police put the brakes on a 14-strong gang intent on securing a Christmas bonus for themselves from Irene Dairy Farm.

Although six suspects did escape on Monday, police are confident the eight suspects in custody will lead them to their accomplices.

The men, aged between 27 and 40 years, attracted a lot of attention from curious motorists along the busy Nelmapius Drive as they were lined up against a wall near the traffic circle and entrance to the dairy.

Police spokesperson Captain Collette Weilbach said the provincial organised crime unit and the intervention unit received a tip-off on Sunday night about a gang's plans to execute an armed robbery.

She said the information indicated which vehicles the suspects would be using, but police were not sure where the robbery would take place.

According to the intelligence, the suspects would be driving two Toyota Corollas, a BMW 3-series and a Volkswagen Golf from Johannesburg along the N1.

"Police deployed at several strategic spots at about 5am to monitor the Old Johannesburg Road.

"The vehicles were spotted and followed towards Pretoria," Weilbach said.

At about 7.30am the suspects parked their vehicles outside the dairy.

At that point, police identified themselves and tried to make the arrests.

"The suspects started running away, but we caught eight of them and recovered four firearms," said Weilbach.

The Pretoria dog unit and the police's spotter plane were called out to search for the fleeing suspects. None was caught.

Dairy manager Francois van der Merwe said he was impressed with the police's success.

"They did very well. The police have caught these guys and they are going nowhere. I hope it's the last we see of them," he said.

Van der Merwe said their in-house security spotted the suspects lurking at the gate before the police made their move and had already called for back up.

He said before the additional security personnel arrived, the police had already pounced on the suspects.

Van der Merwe said the dairy's management had an emergency meeting and were looking at measures to improve security and ensure the safety of their patrons.

"In the new year we hope to make this area an entirely cash-free zone," he said.

Irene resident Lizan Lalk said she got wind of the operation when she went to investigate a commotion outside her home.

"All of a sudden there were police cars everywhere. I told them about the empty property next door, which they searched and declared clear.

"I am pleased with their work, they were very efficient," she said.

Weilbach said the suspects would be charged with being in possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition and they were considering the evidence and the possibility of charging them with conspiracy to commit robbery.

"We are also looking into the possibility that they might be linked to other investigations," she said.

Weilbach said this was just one of many operations the police would be embarking on this festive season.

"We are clamping down on criminals and putting them behind bars so they can't spoil Christmas," she said.


This article was originally published on page 1 of The Pretoria News on December 23, 2008



Two robbery suspects killed
22 December 2008, 18:31

Two suspected robbers were shot dead and six arrested during an attempted armed robbery in Woodmead, Gauteng police said on Monday.

Captain Dennis Adriao said the surviving group were in custody after a foiled armed robbery at Furmart furniture store on Monday afternoon.

Police were alerted to the robbery by other shop owners in the complex after eight armed men pulled over at the scene in three cars.

When the police arrived at the scene the gunmen opened fire and a shoot-out ensued.

One of the men died at the scene and another died on the way to hospital.

The six men arrested were expected to appear in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Tuesday to face charges of attempted armed robbery and illegal possession of firearms.

Adriao said one of the three cars the men drove to the crime scene was reported stolen in Boksburg on December 9. He said they were still trying to obtain information on the other cars. - Sapa

Major crime down in KZN

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2447737,00.html

^^ great news, even here in Jozi there was large number of police precense and my friend told me that police in Sebokeng were also using bicycles.

Mpumalanga cracks down on crime

http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2453217,00.html

This is impressive!!!

^^ this little extract means something to me and i've said it many times "...Provincial police spokesperson Superintendent Abie Khoabane said on Wednesday that the operations were run jointly with the traffic department, department of home affairs and department of roads and transport" this to me means that people coming from Neighboring countries make their way (through miss managed borders) into Mpumalannga (becouse its the first province you'll come across) obviously using roads to transport illegal weapons to major cities.

This-is-not-rocket-science to me, we always ask ourselves why we have highly violent incidents of crime. LOOK if you've seen wars and conflicts, then smashin windows, killing someone for a cellphone, intruding someone's home taking stuff, then raping someone's wife with kids watching is nothing. i'm not hating anyone but we need to catch a wake up!

if you've watched Cocain Cow Boys you'll know what i mean!!!!!

You're right

Don't get me wrong i'm not xenophobic, but its obvious that one of the major reasons that SA has such a high crime rate is because of the uncontrollable influx of illegal immigrants entering our country every year (close to 5million to be exact).

IMO if police want to effectively bring crime numbers down they need to start in places like these

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/18/PonteTower.jpg/200px-PonteTower.jpg

I have always mantained the fact that illegal immigrants are the ones causing us problems in this country as they also smuggle AK47's across uncontrolled borders. It's not Xenophobic but true fact, we I wouldn't say Ponte is the cause of the problem but other areas within Hillbrow. Sometimes last year my friend was telling how drugs are sold in Hillbrow and he told me that the guys who are pretending to be selling sweets and causing grime are Nigerians who are selling drugs and they pretend to be living on those sweets. We know for a fact that they cannpt survive by selling those but the police let them slide.

Crime free tourist season for Western Cape
Thursday, January 22, 2009

No tourists were affected by serious crime over the festive season, according to Western Cape Tourism MEC Garth Strachan. "The good news is that so far, no tourists have been affected by crime this festive season. The bad news is that some holidaymakers fell victim to accidents on the mountains, beaches and roads of the Western Cape," he said yesterday. His department launched a far-reaching safety and security campaign late last year, focusing on issues ranging from crime to wearing sunblock and taking a warm top with them on mountain hikes.

Strachan said the emergency services had been stretched to the limits and thanked the NSRI, the Mountain Club of SA, emergency workers and the police "for giving up their holidays to save the lives of holidaymakers". Four people drowned in the province, but overall the NSRI reported a quieter December/January period, although it was called out to several rescues, he said.

Great news!

So far, war against crime is being won and I hope police will stay consistent in fighting criminals.

it great new for Cape town! so far i've holiday there last festive season. I never see a crime once there

I have been to the cape 5 times already..never saw crime, never felt threatened. Short: great stays: every time. And actually this goes for the whole of SA allthough I must add that untill now apart from Cpt I avoided the big cities (not out of fear really but simply because the attraction of SA to me is what i don't know in my own country...wide open spaces).

Yip, sometimes I read the trouble stories that can not be denied...but it won't keep me from going back to an incredibly intresting country. that is also the message I sprad among my friends, with succes. A lot of them hav visited SA, all of them returning wit big enthousiasm.

^^ Thanx nelly :):) It great when we hear such news from people who visit our country. You actually visited CT a lot of times, which is awesome! You should just immigrate here :)

That option has been considerated! And one day we might decide to do so...

I have been to Sydney, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico City, Chicago, Moscow, St.Peterburg and all major cities in western europe.

None of them appeals as much to me as your city. Of course, pure citywise London or New York, to name but these two, has more to offer than Cape Town in terms of culture, shopping, restaurants,... simply because they're bigger cities but there IS something about Cape Town and the whole region that I can't define but makes me prefer it above all the other mentioned. Is it the moutain, the oceans, the people, the air of renewing that I find all over the city, the glitter (yes yes I know there is the other side as well), ... the combination of it all? Dunno...

Well hope you make the right choice :)

*hint* Cape Town *hint* :-)P

Btw check this article: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=31391340&postcount=152

^^ grea news, it's not good to kill people but every other measure that the police used failed and so these criminals are benefitting and so I guess that's the right step by the police in killing all these bustards. Those who are vene thinking of being involved in crime will have to think twice. BIG UPS to the Police.

11 criminals gunned down in 5 days by Durban Police. Weldone to them, 8 were killed last Friday after they robbed a Butchery/Pension pay out in the CBD and were chased all the way to Umbilo. Yesterday Police gunned down a guy suspected in killing some Zondi dude. Im not sure whether this is a rare occurance, but its good to see the Police taking stronger action against these morons that try and turn on the law.

^^ grea news, it's not good to kill people but every other measure that the police used failed and so these criminals are benefitting and so I guess that's the right step by the police in killing all these bustards. Those who are vene thinking of being involved in crime will have to think twice. BIG UPS to the Police.

plus these guys that were killed were armed and started shooting at the police first, so yeh, they ask for it, they get it.

Yeah i'm glad police gotta killing criminal who dont deserved to live here. Criminal you are warned! Jail or getting killed? BEHAVE during world cup you hear or u will be SORRY!

R5.4bn for criminal justice revamp
Michael Appel

11 February 2009

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel on Wednesday announced a R5.4-billion allocation for the overhaul of South Africa's criminal justice system.

Efforts to review the forensic and investigative capacity of the South African Police Service are already under way, and together with enhanced technologies would give a welcome boost to the country's fight against crime, he said during his 2009/10 Budget speech to Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday.

"A further R5.4-billion is allocated to interventions aimed at improving criminal justice services, the creation of an integrated fingerprint and DNA database, improving detective capacity, [and] upgrading IT and telecommunications systems," Manuel said.

The funds will also go towards increasing the number of police officials from 183 000 in 2008/09 to over 204 000 in 2011/12.

Funding is also provided for additional policing capacity during the 2010 Fifa World Cup, for building new prisons and for implementing the Child Justice Bill.

In his state of the nation address on Friday, President Kgalema Motlanthe said that crime remained a major source of insecurity for South Africans. "Daily experience, in poor and affluent neighbourhoods alike, is one of apprehension at the possibility of violent attack."

Motlanthe said that while South Africa's overall crime rate, having peaked in 2002, had consistently declined since then, it was still not dropping fast enough.

"The fact that incidents of violent robberies in households and businesses have been on the increase, and crimes against women and children have not abated in any significant measure, is a matter of great concern," he said during the opening of Parliament.

South Africa's crime situation, Motlanthe said, pointed to weaknesses in building the bonds of community solidarity, weaknesses in the criminal justice system - from investigation of crimes to rehabilitation of offenders - as well as weaknesses in the efficiency of the court system, both in terms of technical and other infrastructure and management.


Source : www.buanews.co.za

.

I have some very sensitive questions in my mind concerning SA. I want to know what people living in SA think about. "2010 World Cup" made me interested in SA, so I started browsing the Web, reading articles, watching YouTube videos and found how massive, challenging and painful the problem of crime in your country is. I also remembered that my grandfather once was in SA and also that I once met a white/coloured guy who emigrated to Denmark. Both claimed that the situation in SA is very serious. So here is my questions:

- Is it ever possible to take it under control?
- Is there any possibility that all the skilled workers won't leave the country?
- Is there any possibility that all the whites won't emigrate?
- Is SA heading towards Zimbabwe scenario?
- What do you think is the future of SA?

Don't get me wrong, I wish all the best to South Africa. It such an awesome country and I am so sad about the situation here :(

1. They are working hard to get it under control and steady progress is being made! Crime has been falling however slowly from 1994.

2. No they wont all leave . People leaving vs people arriving or coming back is at the moment around 1 : 1 with arivals set to increase.

3. A lot of whites love South Africa and will never leave because they consider South Africa theyre ancestral home and because they dont see all doom and gloom coming. many more reasons why they wont and does it really matter? White doesnt mean uber!

4. South Africa can never become the next Zim . South Africans have allways been revolutionists like the french are . If a leader would pull a mugabe on us he will be eliminated . We have a liberal (mainstream) society with a strong indipendent media and a soon to be bullet proof constitution . Even if by some nightmare the government(ANC) becomes evil good people inside the ANC will destroy it . This constant SA is going to fail is also stupid because any country from the USA to switserland can fail in the long run . South Africa has been going strong for 15years and the chances of failure decrease with every day that passes.

5. South Africas society allways aims big . Were ambitious and allways want to be the best . RWC CWC and now the Soccer Worldcup and aiming to get the RWC again and to get the Olympics . Were the worlds best in Rugby and Cricket . We want to build the worlds largets radio telescope. We want to go into space . Were the world leaders in 4th generation nuclear power . Were going to start enriching Uranium again . Were investing in nano technology research . We have some of the worlds best docters and were one of the world leaders in private healthcare . Were building the most ambitious stadia for a worldcup ever . We want to become world leaders in "green" automobiles . We have some of the best engineers and construction companies . Our future will be quite the same as a country like France or Germany is today and even bigger. We dont have the human masses to become a super power but we will be one of those countries evryone successfull want to live . The epitome of freedom for people .

And gues what . This will come true...

Well, I really glad to see someone so optimistic about SA. Hope it will come true! Can you direct me where I can find an information concerning the things you mentioned:

- We want to go into space.
- Were the world leaders in 4th generation nuclear power.
- Were going to start enriching Uranium again.
- Were investing in nano technology research .
- We have some of the worlds best docters and were one of the world leaders in private healthcare.
- We want to become world leaders in "green" automobiles.
- We have some of the best engineers and construction companies.

Would love to know more about your country :)

Not sure if I can help with all those ....here goes

1) Nuclear power - SA has developed new generation nuclear power using the Pebble-Bed Modular Reactor (PBMC) technology. Although, I think its still in experimental phase.

2) Regarding construction. Murry and Roberts, Grinaker are multinationals.

3) Many SA doctors are well-known overseas - head US/European professional bodies. Netcare 911 (a SA-led company) is a major private health care company in the UK

4) After Oxford and Cambridge, SA university graduates rank third for CEOs of FTSE 100 listed companies.

5) South Africa was the first country to demilitarize its nuclear arsenal in the late 80's

Big Cat, who have you been talking to that you have such a negative view of SA?

And what do you mean - 'Well, I really glad to see someone so optimistic about SA'?

Everyone in this forum, and the majority of South Africans, are positive about SA!

Are you serious, or just having a laugh?

South Africa is a First rank Developing nation, and has been booming for the last 12 years - it is a beautiful place to live...so dont feel 'so sad about the situation here'!

What situation - we have our day to day issues like any other country, and if you are getting info that SA is 'sad', you are getting the wrong info.

Well, I really glad to see someone so optimistic about SA. Hope it will come true! Can you direct me where I can find an information concerning the things you mentioned:

- We want to go into space.
- Were the world leaders in 4th generation nuclear power.
- Were going to start enriching Uranium again.
- Were investing in nano technology research .
- We have some of the worlds best docters and were one of the world leaders in private healthcare.
- We want to become world leaders in "green" automobiles.
- We have some of the best engineers and construction companies.

Would love to know more about your country :)

www.southafrica.info

Big Cat, who have you been talking to that you have such a negative view of SA?

And what do you mean - 'Well, I really glad to see someone so optimistic about SA'?

Everyone in this forum, and the majority of South Africans, are positive about SA!

Are you serious, or just having a laugh?

South Africa is a First rank Developing nation, and has been booming for the last 12 years - it is a beautiful place to live...so dont feel 'so sad about the situation here'!

What situation - we have our day to day issues like any other country, and if you are getting info that SA is 'sad', you are getting the wrong info.


Couldnt have said it any better

Guys, thanks for sharing your thoughts and information. Sorry, if my post have offended some of you. That wasn't my intention.

Diggerdog, as I mentioned above, "2010 World Cup" made me interested towards SA. So, I started gathering all sort of information concerning your country. Naturally, at the beginning I came up with "World Cup" preparations information: what stadiums, what construction where is being made in SA. That's so wonderful :cheers:

I kept on moving and I came up with crime & social situation in SA. It made me deeply shocked. I found a massive amount of south africans telling this:

All I can say, Is don't even bother to pack yuor stuff.......... RUN, get the hell out of that hole and take your kids to a place where they have a future, ANY PLACE DO IT NOW!!! next month or next year will be too late

Thank god we left SA. We´ve been in the EU for 2 years now and WOW we have never been sorry. It´s too late to say you´re leaving after someting has happened. Stuff the country, your family comes first. Home is where the heart is or where your loved ones are safe and have all the opportunities in the world. And yes, when the last South African leaves or is maybe killed, the lights will be turned of permanently and total darkness will fall.........

No amount of money will help these illiterate thugs become better in any way. Our police force cannot be held to the standards of a police in a civilised nation. Most do not do anything during their service but sit in their cars. During 1980s it would take the superb SAP a few minutes to respond. It takes the SAPS buffoons an hour or more to respond to basic emergencies, and in most cases they do not even show up. Our SAP is gone, our SADF is gone and so is our security. Can a South African be proud of anything in this country without bringing up the good old days and therefore be labeled a racist?

White S Africans need to arm themselves to defend themselves against there feral beasts! Get a gun, learn to shoot, and defend yourselves!

And a massive amount of Youtube videos designed to crime situation and brain drain of the country. Here are just few of them:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bk7N4eOaQy4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bk7N4eOaQy4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mfVqN0XUqYs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mfVqN0XUqYs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eXIEqX7aB9U&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eXIEqX7aB9U&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/b9e8wiNiqdo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/b9e8wiNiqdo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/q6XjyQziNzI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/q6XjyQziNzI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eDRg-bPdCOU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eDRg-bPdCOU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

So, after faced with this I decided to ask what do south africans think about:

1) Is it ever possible to take it under control?
I asked this cause everyone in SA is saying that it is such a massive problem and the goverment is doing nothing. For example:

No amount of money will help these illiterate thugs become better in any way. Our police force cannot be held to the standards of a police in a civilised nation. Most do not do anything during their service but sit in their cars. During 1980s it would take the superb SAP a few minutes to respond. It takes the SAPS buffoons an hour or more to respond to basic emergencies, and in most cases they do not even show up. Our SAP is gone, our SADF is gone and so is our security. Can a South African be proud of anything in this country without bringing up the good old days and therefore be labeled a racist?

Over 50 people are killed in SA a day whereas in Iraq there are 48 killed a day.

2) Is there any possibility that all the skilled workers won't leave the country?
I asked this cause a lot of skilled south africans on the daily basis are leaving the country. For example:

Thank god we left SA. We´ve been in the EU for 2 years now and WOW we have never been sorry. It´s too late to say you´re leaving after someting has happened. Stuff the country, your family comes first. Home is where the heart is or where your loved ones are safe and have all the opportunities in the world. And yes, when the last South African leaves or is maybe killed, the lights will be turned of permanently and total darkness will fall.........

3) Is there any possibility that all the whites won't emigrate?
I asked this cause from 1991 to 2001 the population of white south africans have shrunk by almost 1 mln. And I know that the second population census will be held in 2011. So the trend might be even worse.

4) Is SA heading towards Zimbabwe scenario?
I asked this cause the goverment is taking away a land from whites farmers and giving it to blacks. The same have happened to Zimbabwe and after that from food exporter Zimbabwe became the country with a massive starvation.

I also asked this because of ANC and Jacob Zuma who reminds Mugabe so much.

5) What do you think is the future of SA?
Well, after all what I have mentioned this question comes out naturally.


Don't get we wrong. My intention isn't to offend someone here but to hear the first hand opinion about the issues I have mentioned above :)

A lot of the nonsense on the internet is sensationalism. If those people want to leave...screw them...but they aren't being of much help over here anyway. They're the types of people who enjoy sitting back and complaining instead of being proactive and doing something.

Ok, Big Cat, you seem to be REALLY interested in South Africa - you have done a lot of internet browsing - and only come up with negatives.
That leads me to believe you are taking the piss.

For every negative video, there are twenty positive ones.

For every whingeing South African racist telling everyone that the country is a war zone and the 'blacks' are f&cking it up, there are ten South Africans actually living and loving South Africa.

So dig up some positve stuff, and we might take you seriously.

We get 9 million tourists a year and climbing, with zero or very little drama - tourists are as safe in SA as they are in Spain or England or Thailand - as I said, you seem to have been googling a lot of stuff - you can look this up as well.

Big Cat, there will always be a few South Africans who are negative and exaggerate current circumstances, but it doesn't you should consider as the truth.

You're Lithuanian, you out of all people should know that.

Big cat crime is everywhere dude...why so much focus on the negativity...do some research on colombia

Why I wish we'd listen to Italy more when it comes to crime:

An Italian Cabinet minister called today for rapists to be chemically castrated, amid a growing row over vigilante attacks on immigrants that have followed a series of rapes blamed on foreigners.

Roberto Maroni, the Interior Minister, urged Italians not to take the law into their own hands after masked youths armed with wooden clubs smashed up a kebab bar near the scene of a rape at Caffarella Park on the Appian Way in Rome at the weekend.

Roberto Calderoli of the Northern League, who is Minister for Simplification of Laws in the centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi, said that chemical castration was "the only answer" when teenage girls were being attacked. "Talk of rehabilitation is not enough," he told La Stampa. "Society must defend itself".

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5745281.ece


Mr. Calderoli doesn't believe we can socialise criminals into becoming law-abiding citizens. Instead he views criminal behavior as an inherent deficiency, in this case raping innocent young women in parks, and suggests we simply remove that deficiency by any means possible.

Placing loads of criminals in prisons under sentences is ultimately about punishment. If we follow Calderoli's perspective, we don't need punishment or rehabilitation, but a removal of bad people displaying bad behavior. Castrating rapists makes perfect sense, and is considering the circumstances, a fairly modest proposal: You've abused your ability, so you lose it if you want to remain a part of society. No more rape in the park if you lack the balls to do it.

UK's top policeman visits Green Point stadium

Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Services, visited the new Green Point stadium on 11 February 2009. He commented on its “jaw-dropping” beauty and its iconic setting between Table Mountain and Robben Island.

Stephenson was joined by diplomats and senior police officials on the tour.

He was in Cape Town for a briefing on safety and security strategies ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and the 2012 Olympic Games, which will be held in London. The briefing was organised by the Local Organising Committee of FIFA.

Stephenson was appointed to his position at the end of January 2009. On taking office, he noted that one of the biggest challenges in his job would be the provision of effective security for the 2012 Olympic Games.

During the briefing, Stephenson said that he fully supported a number of important steps in respect of safety and security being taken by Cape Town. He pointed out that these are similar to those being taken in London. They include encouraging visitors to enjoy themselves, secure in the knowledge that there is a strong background police presence.

Stephenson said that the United Kingdom and South Africa share a strong sense of optimism about hosting the respective sporting events, and that both countries are focusing on the development of opportunities for their citizens.

Information and strategies in the fight against global crime were also shared.

S Africa security forces stage joint exercise for 2010 World Cup


www.chinaview.cn 2009-03-12 08:02:16 Print

JOHANNESBURG, March 11 (Xinhua) -- The South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force will stage a joint training exercise next week to practise security measures for the 2010 soccer World Cup tournament.

"This specific exercise is aimed at honing our security-related skills to ensure a safe environment in host cities during major events, including securing the national airspace," spokeswoman Sally de Beer said in a statement on Wednesday.

The exercise will take place in four stadiums and some airfields in Gauteng and North West.

Some of the most elite units within the security forces would engage in simulated scenarios and enact certain aspects of emergency contingency plans in order to neutralise any form of airborne threat, De Beer said.

"The operation is considered to be an excellent training opportunity for the security personnel to be deployed during the FIFA Confederations Cup in June this year and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which is just over 12 months away."

The police units to be utilized during this exercise include the Special Task Force, the National Intervention Unit, the National Air Wing, the Dog Unit, bomb disposal experts and hostage negotiators, as well as border and ports of entry components.

Because the exercise aimed to ensure the security of the airspace, the South African Air Force, in close co-operation with the air traffic navigation services of the Department of Transport, would play a pivotal role.

"These departments will be closely supported by the Civil Aviation Authority and various other elements of the South African National Defence Force and government co-ordination structures, thereby ensuring integrated inter-departmental support to the SA Police Service."

The Civil Aviation Authority had already issued a notice to all airmen (NOTAM) which restricted - but did not ban - flights in a stipulated airspace over Johannesburg, Pretoria (Gauteng) and Rustenburg (North West).

"With the exception of scheduled or state flights, all other aircraft wishing to enter into the stipulated airspace between 16 and 19 March must conform to the restrictions.

"This entails applying for flight authorisation at least 24 hours in advance, submitting a flight plan, being equipped with a transponder and being subjected to a vetting process."

Any aircraft observed entering the temporarily restricted airspace without the prescribed authority may be subjected to interception.

De Beer said there would be a great deal of aerial activity in the Johannesburg, Pretoria and Rustenburg areas, particularly over the Soccer City, Ellis Park, Loftus and Royal Bafokeng stadiums.

Soccer-World Cup security will match Beijing says Blatter

Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:30pm GMT Email | Print | Share| Single Page[-] Text [+] MANCHESTER, England, March 11 (Reuters) - Last week's attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team in Pakistan has not raised security fears over the 2010 World Cup, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday.

"We can cross our fingers because so far our game has never been a target for those with the objective of destroying," Blatter told reporters. "What happened in Pakistan was definitely political, it was a fire that can burn every day."

Blatter said security at this year's Confederations Cup and next year's World Cup in South Africa would rival that seen at the Beijing Olympic Games last year.

"We will be careful in terms of the security of the event. We witnessed the high level of security at the Olympics -- and this will be maintained in South Africa, both during the FIFA Confederations Cup and the FIFA World Cup," he said.

"I hope this high security level will be one of South Africa's legacies to future FIFA World Cups."

Sports organisers have been put on alert following the attacks in Lahore that injured several Sri Lankan players and left seven people dead.

However, Blatter said there was no question of heightened security risks affecting the movement of footballers and fans.

"It would be wrong to stop all the travelling in football. The internationality of the game is one of its great strengths," he said.

"What we have to do is to make sure we are careful where we organise our competitions and that the organising committees have proper event security." (Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Rex Gowar)

How street mimes and 'knights of the zebra' helped cut crime in Bogota

March 17, 2009 Edition 1

Diana Sanchez and Suren Pillay

One of the most contested issues in the upcoming elections is going to be the debate on violent crime, and what to do about it. In the Western Cape it is an often ignored fact in the popular consciousness that it is this province, rather than Gauteng, that is considered the murder capital of the country.

The scale and tenacity of the problem can at times become overwhelming to citizens and policy makers alike. Whilst there has been a reduction in the number of homicides in the country over the last few years, this has not necessarily dented the public perception of widespread insecurity and fear amongst both suburban residents and residents in townships and the poor informal settlements.

Criminality is still pervasive in various forms, including violent assaults and household robberies.

Lest we give up in despair, it's worth realising that we are not the only country with this problem.

We can draw lessons and even solace in experiences elsewhere in the world, where violent crime has actually been tackled with remarkable success, and in innovative ways which have fostered a sense of community.

More so, it's worth looking to parts of the world which share similar resource constraints to us and which are also divided societies with violent and colonial pasts.

These experiences offer clues not only about how to think about solutions to our problems, but also about how to provide effective political leadership in trying times.

During the decade 1993-2003 Bogota, the capital of Colombia, one of the most violent countries in the world, achieved a remarkable reduction of its homicide rates through an innovative approach which combined morality, law and culture, and investment in changing mindsets, not simply in more policing and weapons.

Behind this approach was the mayor, Antanas Mockus, who has become an international icon of creative administration and an example of the current vogue in Latin America for anti-politicians. Philosopher and mathematician, and twice elected mayor, he teaches the value of artful responses to crime, corruption and violence.

He resigned from his position as rector of the Colombian National University to run for mayor, and with an educator's inventiveness and belief that to govern is to educate, turned the city into a social experiment, taking charge of, as he described it back then, "a 6.5 million person classroom". His most effective campaigns combined material incentives with normative change and participatory governance. Mockus identified the divide between law and popular morality as a major obstacle to building safer societies. His two terms in office emphasised modifying the practices of citizens who endangered co-existence and affected safety.

The fact that he was an unusual leader and not aligned to any political party gave the mayor the opportunity to try extraordinary things for changing mindsets - and eventually the behaviour - of the city's inhabitants not through preaching but through artistically creative strategies that employed the power of individual and community disapproval.

"If people know the rules and are sensitised by art, humour and creativity, they are much more likely to accept change," he argued.

His initiatives included the deployment of street mimes to correct the behaviour of drivers and pedestrians, symbolic actions against family violence, events such as a "Night for Women'', asking men to stay at home and reflect about the role of women in a less violent society, voluntary disarmament days, the distribution of "thumbs-up" and "thumbs-down" cards for citizens to approve or disapprove of the behaviour of fellow citizens and rewarding the good behaviour of important city agents such as taxi drivers amongst others. In this initiative, he asked people to identify the kind and honest drivers. After a small group of 150 were identified, he called them into his office, named them the "knights of the zebra" and welcomed their advice on how to improve the behaviour of aggressive taxi drivers and encouraged them to become examples for other drivers.

While mimes controlling traffic made citizens aware that authority was not just a matter of punishment, engaging with exemplary taxi drivers showed the importance of empowering citizens for broader transformation. While symbolism was a core element, technical means were put in place in a pedagogical manner and innovation took a more formalised form.

He worked on improving punitive justice and reforming the police through a new code.

Security councils were strengthened and safety actions were focused on crime statistics and detailed space-time analysis and risk factors. Similarly, a sub-secretariat of security and coexistence was created, fostering a stable working team of civil servants, an information system and a routine of meetings and publications and inter-institutional cooperation.

Other actions to promote civic co-existence included the construction or re-furbishing of police centres, public campaigns against intra-familiar violence, and attention to community conflicts was also improved with Justice Houses, Mediation Centers, attention to vulnerable groups, recovery of public spaces and urban surroundings among others. In South Africa we might not want to adopt the same interventions, but we can recognise that change is possible even in contexts and places highly resistant to change, like Colombia.

Mockus imagined a new social reality and indeed started co-creating it with fellow citizens through an approach focused more on reinforcing the positive dimensions of humans living in a collective and not simply by repressing the negative aspects. Although his time in office was not long enough to consolidate a new generation of citizens and many challenges remain, the seeds were sown and many Bogotanos carry around a sense of nostalgia for security policies embedded in the idea of co-existence (or living together, the real meaning of "convivir" in Spanish).

If South Africans managed to escape from apartheid, they could certainly manage to break the current cycle of violent crime.

# Sanchez and Pillay are in the Democracy and Governance Programme of the Human Sciences Research Council. The HSRC is to host Professor Mockus on March 23 in Cape Town for a public lecture at 6pm at the Centre for the Book, 62 Victoria Rd. E-mail Estelle Krishnan: eskrishnan@hsrc.ac.za

^^ I especially like the idea of the street mimes,really creative.Seems like SA has a lot to learn from Bogota.

No security in place for Confederations Cup
ADRIAAN BASSON | JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - Jun 05 2009 07:03

A frantic behind-the-scenes drama was playing out at Safa House last Friday to secure the safety of international superstars and tourists attending the World Cup curtain-raiser, the Confederations Cup.

On the same day football boss Danny Jordaan told American decision-makers that a security plan was in place for the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

The Confederations Cup kicks off next Sunday when Bafana Bafana play Iraq at Ellis Park.

The Mail & Guardian can reveal that:

* Until Thursday last week no security company had been appointed to safeguard VIPs, hotels, stadiums and training grounds;
* A consortium comprising the Sweden-based security conglomerate Securitas and local security firm Stallion Security was awarded the multimillion-rand tender, but walked away from negotiations after the organising committee (OC) refused to pay “proper” salaries to security guards and management; and
* A relatively small and unknown Cape Town-based security firm with a limited national footprint, Chippa Protection Services, was appointed by the OC last Friday and ordered to dispatch guards immediately to the four stadiums to be used for Confederations Cup matches.

The New York Times reported this week that Jordaan, the OC’s chief executive, addressed an American crowd in Manhattan last Friday, wooing them to attend the World Cup and addressing fears about security.

“We believe we have a security plan in place and the World Cup will be played without incident. We now have the British Lions rugby team on tour. Next is the Confederations Cup. And if it goes without incident no one will say a word. But if it doesn’t we will never hear the end of it,” Jordaan was quoted saying.

But on the same day, Jordaan’s colleagues had to scramble to appoint security guards to deliver basic security services to players and teams attending the Confederations Cup.

The roots of the mess
The M&G has traced the roots of the mess to February 25, when the tender for the provision of “static and VIP protectors” was advertised by the OC. The tender document states that the tournament requires 1 182 security guards to protect the hotels where players, administrators and referees are staying, the four stadiums used for the Confederations Cup (Ellis Park, Loftus, Bloemfontein and Rustenburg), and the training grounds for the eight participating teams.

The guards should have been trained “to the standards as determined by the OC and Fifa” and were to be deployed from June 4. A small number of security guards had to be placed at the ticket centres in four cities.

But, until the M&G sent the OC questions Wednesday, no award was made. Several industry insiders told the M&G this week about the OC’s mad rush to appoint guards after receiving the newspaper’s questions.

On Thursday last week, representatives from the Securitas/Stallion consortium were summoned urgently to Safa House. There they were told for the first time that the consortium was the preferred bidder and had to dispatch guards to the four stadiums the same night.

The M&G was told that afternoon by OC spokesperson Rich Mkhondo that an award had been made. What he omitted to say was that the award had only been made a few hours before.

According to inside sources, Securitas/Stallion agreed to the award and hastily made plans to provide the required guards.

But on Friday afternoon negotiations broke down after the parties couldn’t agree on payment terms for guards and management. The M&G has it on impeccable authority that the OC offered to pay R300 a security guard for a 12-hour shift.

This, according to industry insiders, is “substantially lower” than the going rate for guards at big sporting events. According to security experts it is quite common for these guards to be paid between R300 and R400 for three-hour shifts at big events.

The Securitas/Stallion consortium subsequently withdrew from the contract. This was confirmed by Stallion chief executive Clive Zulberg, who told the M&G “our offer was a lot more than what they budgeted for”. He declined to divulge more information due to a non-disclosure agreement.

Securitas spokesperson Gisela Lindstrand confirmed the firm’s “ongoing discussions regarding delivering security services for the Fifa Confederations Cup in South Africa, but it is our policy never to disclose any information about negotiations or discussions with potential customers”.

The withdrawal of Securitas/Stallion left the OC without security guards 17 days before the kick-off.

In the meanwhile the OC made an “ad hoc award” to Cape Town-based Helios Security, which also guards Safa House, to protect the stadiums and equipment stored there. Helios director Reza de Bruyns confirmed that they were asked to protect the stadiums until Tuesday this week, when they were informed that Chippa would take over.

A small Muldersdrift-based security outfit, Interactive Security, also received an ad hoc appointment to guard the four ticketing offices.

After the M&G made further queries, Mkhondo confirmed that the negotiations with Securitas/Stallion had failed and that the OC reserved the right to start negotiations with the “reserve bidder. This is what happened in this case.”

‘We give the guys one day’s training'
The reserve bidder was Chippa Protection Services. Managing director Siviwe “Chippa” Mpengesi told the M&G the company was under “tremendous pressure” to deliver the security services on such short notice. “We received our letter of appointment on Friday [May 29] and started on Monday.”

On whether it was difficult for Chippa to deliver such crucial services in a short period, Mpengesi answered: “Of course. Because of the nature of the contract, we needed to recruit a lot of guards and clothe them … Of course it was a challenge, but it won’t be the first challenge we face.”

But he added that his company did not have the capacity to provide VIP protection services and had outsourced that part of the contract.

According to a company profile Chippa was registered in 2002, has 1 600 registered security guards on its books and is providing security services to a range of education facilities in the Western Cape, as well as to Eskom, Transnet, Metrorail and the police.

Mpengesi confirmed that he had had to hire new guards to fulfil the Confederations Cup tender. “We had people on our database. We also made use of agents. What we did was to give the guys a one-day training on how to conduct security at special events. We are very strong on training.”

Mpengesi said all his guards were registered with the Private Security Regulatory Authority (Psira) and the OC was going to vet them from Thursday. “If they have criminal records, we are not going to use them.”

He admitted to “lowering our profit margin” to be able to provide security guards for the tournament.

He dismissed criticism from industry insiders that his company was inexperienced: “The so-called big companies must accept that we’re in a new era, that things have changed dramatically. They always do that -- when we were awarded a waste-management tender, they lodged an appeal with Cape Town to say we are a small company. We are not small. Our turnover is not less than R7-million a month.”

‘This is shocking’
Institute for Security Studies expert Johan Burger told the M&G on Thursday he was “shocked” that a few days before the start of the tournament security wasn’t in place.

“I know that the organising committee and the police have been planning for these events for the past four to five years. The Confederations Cup is supposed to be a curtain-raiser for the big event. This is shocking to say the least.”

The National Intelligence Agency had to vet all security guards for events such as the Confederations Cup. “To do proper vetting takes at least a few weeks.

“All this means to me is more pressure on the South African Police Service, who already have their hands full. It looks as if somebody was not doing their work here and I’m afraid to say all fingers are pointing at the OC.”

The same New York Times article quoted recent research by the international Grail Research company that found security was still the overriding concern for people considering attending the 2010 World Cup.

Grail’s Kurian Thomas was quoted as saying: “There is general agreement that South Africa is not known to be a very secure country and that there is a higher risk to personal safety than in the rest of the Western world. There are concerns, and it could be a detriment to people going to the World Cup.”

The LOC’s security portfolio is headed by former prisons boss Linda Mti, who left the correctional services department under a cloud. The M&G revealed last year that Mti had been convicted for drunk driving in 1992 and was facing a similar charge to be heard by the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court this year.

Sigh.

:bash:

Bring back the death penalty for imcompetent LOC members!

Why I wish we'd listen to Italy more when it comes to crime:



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5745281.ece


Mr. Calderoli doesn't believe we can socialise criminals into becoming law-abiding citizens. Instead he views criminal behavior as an inherent deficiency, in this case raping innocent young women in parks, and suggests we simply remove that deficiency by any means possible.

Placing loads of criminals in prisons under sentences is ultimately about punishment. If we follow Calderoli's perspective, we don't need punishment or rehabilitation, but a removal of bad people displaying bad behavior. Castrating rapists makes perfect sense, and is considering the circumstances, a fairly modest proposal: You've abused your ability, so you lose it if you want to remain a part of society. No more rape in the park if you lack the balls to do it.

i wish every country will make it a law that any guy that rapes a woman...will have his shooboink boink cut off and them surgically stitch...then locked up for life....say goodbye to porno magazines and lotion in jail.

Heh, yea. There's a lot of shit in this country and quite honestly, it frightens me. :(

In terms of transport in Cape Town
Cape Town Station, has its own Police station, and its presence is felt when arriving at
the station. There is much more security on trains and some other stations.
Cape Town International Airport has a police station in the Parkades, their presence is too felt through out the Airport area, inside and out.

Source: http://www.southafrica.info

10 June 2009

The South African Police Service has assured soccer fans that they need not fear for their safety when they are in the country for the Fifa Confederations Cup.

...

"We warn criminals that our members and partners are standing by to crush any lawbreaker without clemency."

...

More than 12 000 law enforcement officials have been deployed to four host cities and non-hosting cities. This excludes the normal police members who have also geared up to ensure safety and security of people during and after the tournament.

...

Further to this, police and members of the South African Defence Force have been positioned at all ports of entry, including airports and national boarders, to ensure criminals do not gain entry to the country as well as to prevent organised crime.

Full Article: http://www.southafrica.info/2010/saps-100609.htm

Further to this, police and members of the South African Defence Force have been positioned at all ports of entry, including airports and national boarders, to ensure criminals do not gain entry to the country as well as to prevent organised crime.

Wot?! I thought they already guarded our very porous borders, this after giving the Zimbabweans visa-free entry to the country as well. Isn't there like a huge electric fence along the length of the border, why isn't it turned on?

LOL - the South African border is open like a 711 - sure in parts it looks all secure or staffed, but to be honest at some of our border crossings ie. Maseru crossing. they cross the river just a few meters away from the official crossing - no hassle, passport control and no waiting in line. Many locals in certain areas near to our borders find it a joke to even think we have secure borders.

Do not fear, we have water cannons again!!

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=74354&d=1242035873

Haha.

They even went with a couple of items off the extras list.... bulldozer attachement, shielded blue light....

was at the italy - usa game yesterday. security was very impressive without being overbearing.

Men that steal women's hangbags at gunpoint are scum of the Earth that deserve to have their nuts ripped off.Fuck me being robbed,they messed with my Ma and what the fuck can I do?nothing.Absofuckinglutely nothing.

Port Elizabeth - One of the new stadiums built for the football World Cup next year was attacked by armed robbers after an international rugby game, it was reported on Wednesday.

The robbery at the sports bar of the new Nelson Mandela Bay stadium in Port Elizabeth took place on Tuesday afternoon, after a game between the British and Irish Lions and the Southern Kings.

The SABC quoted police as saying that the robbers pounced on the bar on the stadium's fifth level after a large police contingent had left the stadium. A small amount of money was taken but no-one was injured.

Police arrested five suspects.

The match was the first official sports event in the 48 000-capacity stadium, the first of five new World Cup stadiums to be completed earlier this month.

The stadium and city had originally been scheduled to host games in the football Confederations Cup currently taking place in the country, but was axed by world football body FIFA from the list last year for fear it would not be ready in time.

News24 (http://www.news24.com/Content/SouthAfrica/News/1059/da68e356f2a54659acb4015acb8c508b/17-06-2009%2009-06/Armed_robbers_hit_2010_stadium)

Thank god no one was hurt and Good thing the suspect are arrest.

Do not fear, we have water cannons again!!

http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=74354&d=1242035873

flip! thank god we got new ones!!! Those old ones on the 1920 Merc trucks were looking abit rusty the last time they used it.

Men that steal women's hangbags at gunpoint are scum of the Earth that deserve to have their nuts ripped off.Fuck me being robbed,they messed with my Ma and what the fuck can I do?nothing.Absofuckinglutely nothing.

sorry to hear that, yeh it is a pain to know you can do nothing & when you report it, its not like the Police seem very enthusiastic to clamp down on the situation.

Big ups to SAPS Arcadia for returning my Ma's purse with MOST of the contents intact.

Big ups to SAPS Arcadia for returning my Ma's purse with MOST of the contents intact.


Good for you mate (and for your mum of course).

And a good thing they caught suspects for the robbery on PE as well.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20090620063923681C231636

By Kashiefa Ajam and Sameer Naik

On the cusp of an unforgettable international sporting weekend, South Africa appears unable to shake the global perception that it is a haven for criminals.

On Thursday night, fresh from their stunning Confederations Cup triumph over Italy, the victorious Egyptians found their five hotel rooms had been broken into and several thousand dollars stolen.

Earlier that evening, four British tourists had arrived at OR Tambo International Airport ahead of today's opening Test in the three-Test British and Irish Lions tour of the country.

They were followed to where they were staying the night, then beaten up and robbed.

Ten days ago, the SA Police Service had said sports fans need not fear for their safety when they were in the country.

But the lawbreakers who followed and attacked two sets of brothers Michael, 57, and Peter Harriott, 58, and Simon 57, and John Murphy, 52, are still roaming free.

The four men from Kent, England - who flew in from London to follow the British and Irish Lions tour - were hijacked on Thursday night on their way home from OR Tambo. After hiring a car with a GPS navigation system, the four headed off to Duxberry in Sandton, where they had booked at a bed and breakfast.

"The navigation system gave us problems and it took us through Ellis Park, where a Confederations Cup game was being played.

"We got lost and arrived very late at the bed and breakfast in Duxberry. The front entrance had been closed and we had to use an alternative entrance," said Michael Harriott.

The tourists said they noticed they were being followed as they made their way to the back entrance.

"A black Mercedes-Benz boxed us in and four men appeared with guns. They surrounded our car. They ordered us out of the car and told us to lie on the floor and remove our wallets and watches."

He tried to grab one of the robbers' guns but was punched in the nose.

"They threw me to the ground and, the next thing, one of the robbers got into our hired car, while the other three jumped in theirs. They sped off with our luggage."

"We were now stranded but we saw a Muslim prayer meeting and decided to ask for help. A friendly man named Mohammed showed us where the police station was."

The four men, although shocked, said they would remain in the country for the Test matches.

"Besides enjoying the rugby, the people who helped us with the incident were very friendly and helpful. This why we will stay," said Michael Harriott.

Meanwhile, Egyptian soccer players returned from their 1-0 upset victory over world champions Italy to find that cash had been stolen from five of their hotel rooms. It was not immediately clear how much money had been stolen, but the amount is believed to be the equivalent of several thousand dollars.

National police spokeswoman Director Sally De Beer said: "It must be stressed that they were not present in the hotel rooms at the time of the incident. Detectives from the Norwood police station are interacting with the team and will investigate further.

"The SAPS will also interact with the management of the hotel in question. We will take all measures possible, including liaising and co-operating with other role-players, to prevent a recurrence of an incident of this nature."

On Tuesday afternoon, after a rugby match between the Lions and the newly formed Eastern Cape rugby team the Southern Kings at the new Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth, the stadium bar was robbed when five armed men held up staff and emptied the cash register. Fifa World Cup analyst and Brandovation CEO Nikolaus Eberl last week said South Africa's priority during the Confed Cup was to reverse the perception that the country was a crime hub.

This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on June 20, 2009

Being a student who studies overseas, I spend A LOT of my time correcting misconceptions about Africa as a whole and reassuring people that tourists are generally safe in SA. For the most part, I think they are, but having these kind of things happen while we're hosting some of the biggest events in the world makes me wonder whether I should keep telling people to come. A friend of mine from Germany was mugged in CT a few days ago (although the knife wielding moron assured her he wasn't mugging her, just asking her for money). I have another friend from the US who is staying in Richard's Bay at the moment and I'm hoping she isn't going to be robbed too. How do we, as the general public stop crime or is it just the SA mindset to accept it? I voted for a new government but we all know that it's a number of years before that will change. I know the police are stretched and are trying, but I am burnt out by the stupidity of some of my fellow South Africans. Robbing a national team? Who are these imbeciles who can't see the bigger picture. For goodness sake. Rob me instead. At least then I won't look like an ass when I go back to my smug fellow students who "told me that SA couldn't do it". :wallbash:

^^ i totally share your frustration. many people don't think about a bigger picture. they see themselves and what are others have done to them and what they, in their minds, deserve. to such people stealing is just part of life and something you have to do to get ahead. idiots.

Those lying basturds! Egyt team were partying with some Hoe's and having a good time drinking (both of which is against their religion) lied to the police and hotel management saying their rooms were robbed in the mean time they must've have been drunk out of their mind whilst the girls robbed them and left.

Those lying basturds! Egyt team were partying with some Hoe's and having a good time drinking (both of which is against their religion) lied to the police and hotel management saying their rooms were robbed in the mean time they must've have been drunk out of their mind whilst the girls robbed them and left.

lol

source ?

Those lying basturds! Egyt team were partying with some Hoe's and having a good time drinking (both of which is against their religion) lied to the police and hotel management saying their rooms were robbed in the mean time they must've have been drunk out of their mind whilst the girls robbed them and left.

who said they were drinking? And besides, if they did hire prostitutes they wouldnt call the police, they would keep it secret, they're not stupid you know.

Well many papers reported that alcohol was consumed, but we all know how the press can fabricate things, but according to hotel staff there were prostitutes with them.

Sunday Times and Sunday World. re ported the case.

i read the articles too and it does makes sense, they only reported robbery a day after to cover-up their acts. quite sad.

WTF Brazil team got robbed...

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20090622122222583C308954

http://www.hayibo.com/articles/view/1067

A lot of people going to prostitutes these days.

WTF Brazil team got robbed...

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20090622122222583C308954

See everyone, the prostiute case is bull, even Brazil got robbed! lets wait and see if they get blamed for prostitution too

Brazil 2nd nation to report robbery
By TALES AZZONI, Associated Press Writer
Jun 21, 6:52 pm EDT

Buzz up!6 votes PrintPRETORIA, South Africa (AP)—Brazil became the second nation at the Confederations Cup to say it was robbed at the team’s hotel.

Brazil coach Dunga revealed the robbery on Sunday. Team spokesman Rodrigo Paiva said “a jacket and some money” disappeared from some of the rooms at the Centurion Lake hotel, just outside Pretoria.

They think it happened when the team went to a safari on Friday, and Paiva says Brazil contacted authorities about the incident.

Paiva said two rooms apparently were robbed, of left back Kleber and of a team physiotherapist.

The Egyptian delegation denied local news reports that players who were robbed last week at the team hotel were “drinking and womanizing” and it was those women who stole from them.

Five Egyptian football players said their Johannesburg hotel rooms were burgled Thursday while they were beating Italy at Ellis Park stadium.

The Sunday Independent quoted an unidentified “senior policeman” as saying: “No money was taken from the safe, but we have heard that they had been drinking and womanizing, and the same women later robbed them.”

Egyptian delegation head Mahmoud Taher denied that report and asked the police to also issue a denial.

“Security officials should have been focused on their duties and thorough investigations and reporting the results,” Taher said in a statement. “After what was published by the newspapers today … we are demanding a formal statement from the police department to either deny these allegations or to provide us with evidence they have (if there is any).”

Taher also demanded a formal apology from the newspapers that printed the claim.

Both FIFA and the local organizing committee have declined to comment on the case because the investigation is ongoing, but Taher gave some details of the incident on Sunday.

“The theft was discovered by some of the players after their arrival from the Egypt-Italy game and was reported to the hotel and the team liaison officer,” Taher said. “Police arrived in the morning and questioned the players who had been robbed and wrote their reports. We are still waiting for the results of these investigations.”

Taher also said the local security would not have allowed anyone into the players’ rooms.

“This tight security measure does not allow any strangers access to the floor of the delegation,” he said.

AP Sports Writer Chris Lehourites in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

Updated

Hey I just thought of this, arent those horns a danger to the people during the 2010 World Cup...Here is a list security and safety problems that people could be dealing with come 2010 with the horns...

#1 What if the fans become upset they lost and start to attack the other fans with the horns?
#2 What if the drunk fans pour beer into the horns and spit it out on people?
#3 What it the little kids choke while blowing on the horns, or someone throws something into the top of it?
#4 If the fans get mad what makes you think they will not throw the horns at the players?

The horns are so annoying and a huge safety problem for 2010 and the need to be delt with ASAP.

Oh please. Stop being pedantic.

Its better to be safe than sorry...How do you know it won't happen...safety first..

I bet he also dreams about them too.

^^ your a battty man why would i dream about a long plastic stick? I dream about beyonce, jessica simpson and ciara :).

well not jessica simpson....but rihanna, alicia keys, janet jackson and a bunch of white girls in porno are definately in my dream path....

^^ you crazy nigg@z, I wouldn't mind Jessica Simpson in my dreams...not forgetting Hannah West...

@ Dennis : Ew I dont like Rihanna I mean it sucks she got beat up, but her forehead is huge, which kills her face and I always hear she is a real biatch. Whats wrong with jessica?

@ Pule: I read your blog, I know your married, u better not let your wife hear you yelling their names :lol:.

lol i dont mind her forehead...shes pretty....i have never really been a big fan of jessica simpson....i like jessica biel more or cameron diaz.

hmmm keri hilson is really who i wanna violate lol

@ Dennis : Ew I dont like Rihanna I mean it sucks she got beat up, but her forehead is huge, which kills her face and I always hear she is a real biatch. Whats wrong with jessica?

@ Pule: I read your blog, I know your married, u better not let your wife hear you yelling their names :lol:.

:lol: we grown up dude and there's nothing wrong with appreciting buddy. SSC is my second wife and Im not planning on cheating mother of my kids and SSC.

Well I wouldn't mind with our very own South African Charlize Theron.

Well I wouldn't mind with our very own South African Charlize Theron.

Yeah she's soo hot, there are some photos of her in the SSC Africa section :drool:

Can I remind you guys something, lol, look at what we're dicussing in the thread lol isnt this thread "Crime and Security approaching 2010" :lol: I think we got carried away :P

I once had a conversation with a bed-and-breakfast-owner from Ireland in Mosselbay where I was staying at the time. He was really very positive about living in SA and was very fond of the SA people. He told me that in order to set up a b&b you had to employ at least two locals. That was an official rule. The inofficial rule was that one of them had to have ANC-connections. The police will see to it that these ruleas are being abided. Another thing was that he had to give the police a fair amount of money because so many b&b's were being started at the time and as a result of that security could not be guaranteed. That made me kind of :weird:, but the owner said to me: I can understand your doubts, but this is Africa. You have to understand these things. And well, I have to say, he seemed like a very happy man. I guess, at least he realised his dreams.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2009/07/south_african_safety.html


South African Safety

Clifton Broumand has attended every World Cup since 1982, a total of 82 matches over eight tournaments. As a fan who has navigated countless stadiums, taken late-night trains and rushed around unfamiliar cities, he has never had a major safety concern. But as the 2010 event in South Africa approaches, Broumand offers this cautionary tale from his experience at the recent Confederations Cup.

"On the evening of the final in Johannesburg, my friend and I were walking back to our car and three males attempted to rob us at knife point," said Broumand, 51, who has lived in the Washington area for 27 years and serves as a referee in local amateur leagues. "We got out of that by yelling. Later that morning while I was sleeping at my B&B, my bungalow was broken into and I was assaulted, tied up, gagged and all of my possessions were stolen."

Confronted by intruders with a gun and knife, he said he lost a laptop computer, camera, two cell phones, cash, passport, shoes and all of his clothes -- except for the item used to cover his mouth. The incident occurred in an area well north of Johannesburg, seemingly safe for tourists, he said.

You'll want to keep reading this thread,

He said numerous police officers arrived at the scene, in large part, according to the B&B owner, because he was a foreigner who had been victimized. South African citizens were eager to assist him in a time of need.

"I had no other problems before or after the other [six] games that I attended. The people are extraordinarily nice. They offered me money and said, 'Take it! Take it! We are so sorry.' It's a great place, a great country. I will go back. It's just there is a small amount of people who will take advantage of the situation" with the World Cup and hundreds of thousands of visitors in the country.

Broumand borrowed money from a friend to buy new clothes and received an emergency passport before returning home to Washington this week.

"People need to know what to expect," he said. "I now have first-hand experience. I might've been the only victim of a violent crime the whole tournament, but that doesn't make me feel any better."

His message to those thousands of supporters who will be joining him in South Africa next year: "This will be the most challenging [of any World Cup] in regard to safety and security. You have to be exceptionally cautious."

^^^Thanks for reporting doom and gloom but being from the DC area we are no strangers to crime either. The story sounds fishy to me.

fishy how...u think he trying to make south africa look bad?....these things do happen....and where is the joke of security to protect foreigners...no where to be found...what if they had killed him?

Wow, Clifton Brouman is welcome to visit me here in Jo'burg, he might get a different picture of life down here. After 34 years of living here, I certainly haven't been through that!

SA Making Progress Against Crime
13 September 2010

The police are winning the war against crime in South Africa, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said at the release of the national crime statistics for 2009/10, which show decreases in murders, attempted murders, car hijackings, street robberies, bank robberies and cash-in-transit heists.

Murders down by 8.6%
Addressing the media in Pretoria on Thursday, Mthethwa said that murders had decreased by 8.6 percent between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2010 – the third-largest drop in South Africa's murder rate since 1995.

"For the first time in the history of the SAPS, the murder figure fell below the 17 000 mark, compared to 26 877 in 1995/1996 fiscal year," Mthethwa said, adding that total of 11 834 murder-related arrests had been made in the same period.

While this had bolstered their resolve to fight crime, the police would endeavour to reduce the figure even more, Mthethwa said.





Aggravated robberies down by 7.5%
Another key crime category that saw a decline in 2009/10 was that of robbery with aggravating circumstances, which decreased by 7.5 percent overall.

The category includes public or street robberies, which dropped by 10.4%, with 9 552 arrests being made; bank robberies (8.8% decrease, 38 arrests); and cash-in-transit robberies (7.3% decrease, 52 arrests).

"We can attribute this decrease to extremely high levels of police visibility which we maintained in various communities," Mthethwa said, adding that community policing had also contributed to the positive figures.

Business robberies down, residential robberies 'stabilise'
There was also a significant decrease in business robberies, which were down by 51% at major retailers, by 11% at shopping malls, by 25% at petrol stations, and by 18% at post offices.

While robberies at residential premises were up by 2.7%, Mthethwa said the comparison with the alarming increases of the past five years suggested this type of crime had started to stabilise.

Robberies at non-residential premises, which also showed sharp increases in recent years, decreased by 4.4% in 2009/10.

Mthethwa attributed the decline and stabilising of these crimes to partnerships with communities and businesses, as well as police initiatives such as the introduction of "war rooms" and tactical response teams, and the profiling of most-wanted suspects.