Former National Police Commissioner, now CEO of the Safer South Africa Foundation (SSAF), Riah Phiyega said on Wednesday that high levels of crime pose a serious threat to democracy, the economy, social stability and the peace of the country.

She was addressing delegates at the Policing Indaba, held by the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru), in Johannesburg.

She spoke of interventions in combating and preventing crime through schools programmes, emphasising that nation-building was essential.

She heads a programme implemented by the SSAF, which was founded by Popcru in 2020, with the aim of targeting schools to ensure a behavioural turn-around strategy relating to crime.

She said schools were equally affected by crime and added that a new category in the country’s crime statistics showed a manifestation of crime in schools.

She added that investing in the country’s future was a sensible thing to do and said children should be taught to make better choices as they were future leaders.

She applauded the union for hosting the Indaba where necessary conversations would be shared for possibilities that would lead to actions.

Phiyega said crime resulted in deprivation of peace and added that the recent crime statistics created fearful citizens and had prevented entrepreneurs from making the most of economic opportunities.

She noted that despite South Africa’s advanced Constitution, crime stood in the way of the country’s development. She said the causes of crime were deeply rooted in the ills afflicting the country.

She called for the mobilisation of civil society in the fight against crime and stressed that police alone would not be able to effectively reduce crime.

Communities should be mobilised to help in fighting crime and she added that the reality was that the country was swamped and overwhelmed by the effects of crime.