Hon Speaker, community police forums, CPFs, were established to ensure that there is consistent interaction between the local police station and the community it serves. A CPF is a legitimate forum for the community to raise challenges and to make inputs into the priorities of the station.
Community members can provide valuable information that can lead to the arrest of the people after crimes are committed. Communities can also assist in providing intelligence that can lead to the prevention of crimes. There are many success stories, and where CPFs are functioning well and enjoy a good relationship with the police, crime in the area comes down.
The Minister indicated that he was looking at proper funding for CPFs to further strengthen their work and increase their impact in the fight against crime. In the Western Cape, under the leadership of the longing-for- the-past and anti transformation DA, the premier decided to stop funding community police forums. This is a serious indication of a lack of understanding of the complexities of the fight against crime.
The DA and the premier will have to take responsibility for the negative impact that this decision will have on the progress that the police make in the fight against crime in the Western Cape. As the ANC in the Western Cape, we would like to urge the Minister to intervene in this matter, and to assist all responsible citizens of the Western Cape in stopping this process.
We believe the DA's decision to start neighbourhood watches in the place of CPFs will lead to problems. No formal framework exists that can regulate the interaction between the police and the neighbourhood watches. The existence of CPFs empowers the people, and the ANC cannot allow the DA in the Western Cape to create an island where our people become second-hand citizens, as with the building of toilets. [Applause.]
Order! The PAC has not been able to use its opportunity or slot. Does the ANC wish to take the slot?