CEO of the Consumer Goods Council South Africa, Mr Mangozhe
CEO’s and representatives of other companies and organisations
Fellow guest speakers
Delegates

Good morning

Thank you for the opportunity afforded to the South African Police Service to make a contribution to your discussions during this summit. Both the Minister of Police and I have recently and frequently professed our belief that without partnerships with key role players we will not be able to break the back of crime. This is a fact.

At the recent release of crime statistics we both again emphasised the need to engage with the private sector and ensure that existing partnerships are sustained and that new partnerships are initiated.

Where new crime patterns emerge which are focused on a certain industry, it is necessary for the South African Police Service to constructively engage with the stakeholders in that environment. This type of focused engagement has proved to be extremely useful in addressing, and to a large degree, decreasing particular crime trends. Day before yesterday, we attended a media briefing with another of our partners, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC).

Through a sustained partnership, which has involved a great deal of information and resource sharing, we have achieved many successes. The same can be said of the emerging partnerships we are forging with the Mining Industry through the establishment of the Mining Crime Combating Forums.

We launched the latest Forum last week in Limpopo having launched the first one in Rustenburg during the month of August. These are mutually beneficial partnerships that we wish to replicate across various industries. The South African Police Service and the Consumer Goods Council SA have also been engaged in a partnership, at different levels, for some time.

I personally met with Mr Mangozhe in February this year and a follow-up and broader meeting was held in July. There it was agreed that there is a need, at our level, for structured engagements with industry associations and businesses on an integrated platform.

Often, at the annual release of crime statistics, the question arises why shoplifting is categorised as a serious crime. One just has to look at the shocking figures relating to this crime type, and the effect that it has on our economy, to realise why we follow this crime trend closely. Between five retailers Shoprite, Pick ‘n Pay, Massmart, Spar and Woolworths between two and three billion rand is lost annually due to shoplifting.

We, the SAPS, have recognised the need to investigate the real possibility of organised syndicates being behind a large majority of shoplifting incidents. It will be necessary to bring other departments, organisations and businesses on board to comprehensively address this matter in a coordinated manner.

The Consumer Goods Council is playing an active role in a Priority Committee established by the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure, the NATJOINTS. The NATJOINTS is a structure mandated by Cabinet to plan and implement integrated strategies relating to major events, stability and crime.

This Priority Committee includes other partners, besides the Consumer Goods Council, such as the Road Freight Association and the Petroleum Security industry and the Committee has met fortnightly for over a year. Cooperation between the NATJOINTS and the CGCSA is outstanding and we would want to see similar, regular interactions taking place in all nine provinces.

Another area, which is not necessarily related to shoplifting, where we believe the CGCSA and the insurance industry could play a vital role is with regard to the hijacking of trucks carrying goods which increased by 14.9% during the past financial year of 2012/13.

We are aware the primarily interest is not so much in the truck, it is the goods. These goods, we believe, often find their way to many shops across the country and some to the neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland.

A new trend that is emerging, which we as management are not particularly proud of, is the involvement of some of our police officers. This is a huge concern for us and we are hard at work to root out these corrupt elements from within our midst.

Ladies and gentlemen, you would have heard I have vowed to streamline the SAPS, to introduce integrity and discipline and at the same time to fight crime through reinforcing and initiating partnerships. My team and I are very serious about all these elements and I would like to express my appreciation to the CGCSA for their commitment to our partnership. Together we can do more.

Let me conclude by saying, “If you do not seek out allies and helpers, then you will be isolated and weak”, these words are contained in The Art of War. They are simple yet so true. If we are to win the war against crime and criminals, we should take them to heart.