South African policemen and women, according to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, are and will be adequately trained to deal with the growing challenges law enforcement officers face.
Replying to a Parliamentary question posed by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) National Assembly (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) Khonziwe Hlonyana, he said the SA Police Service (SAPS) is investing in technologies to modernise policing. This was being done due to “constant evolution of technology and its exploitation by criminals” the Ministerial response reads with the rider that it was happening “within the constraints of outdated platforms and prevailing budget reductions”.
He told his questioner four technologies are prioritised. They are a digital radio communication network; surveillance and access control solutions for “effective security at SAPS sites, including police stations”; unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones or remotely piloted aerial vehicles; and providing body worn and in vehicle dashboard cameras. All told these will ensure uninterrupted, reliable and secured radio communications; improve situational awareness and response times and enhance police safety and accountability.
On organised crime and what Mchunu termed “related sophisticated criminal activities”, he told his questioner the SAPS is reviewing its commercial crime learning programmes. This will improve investigation skills. Similarly, a serious organised crimes learning programme is being developed to up the skill levels of investigators and operatives. The Service has reviewed its undercover operations, crime intelligence collection and operational analysis learning programmes as part of skills enhancement and competency improvement.
With cybercrime now an accepted component of wrongdoing, the Service is developing learning programmes to target this aspect of criminal activity.
Multiple information and communication technology (ICT) improvement initiatives are currently underway, including a unified communications effort; cloud computing solutions; implementation of the Integrated Persons Management (IPM) System, to provide a single view of the movement of individuals through the SAPS and criminal justice system; the development and implementation of the Firearm Control Management System (FCMS), to provide for the online capturing and processing of firearm-related applications, and the automated uploading of firearm dealers’ stock; upgrading of tools such as laptops and forensic capabilities; and establishing a partnership with the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABIRC) to ensure collaborative investigations into criminal activities.
