The South African Police Service (SAPS) has launched a brand new “Country in Blue” operation concept which will see police driving with their blue lights on after dark in an effort to heighten police visibility across the country.
This new strategy will also include the use of drone technology policing in crime hotspots to track and trace criminals.
The “Country in Blue” strategy will see security forces, civil society and government agencies working closely together in their effort to fight crime, as all operational SAPS vehicles on the road will have their emergency warning blue lights switched on from sunset to sunrise. Additional operational vehicles will also be marked to ramp up police presence on the roads. The concept aims to deter all forms of criminality and to mobilize more community patrollers to work closely with the police as “force-multipliers”.
The strategy also aims to prevent and combat several crimes, including 17 community reported crimes which include: gender based violence, aggravated robberies, business and residential robberies and to ramp up the tracing of wanted suspects and illegal firearms.
SAPS National Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole said that the “Country in Blue” concept was only one of several crime combating strategies to maximize police visibility.
“Because we want to be everywhere all the time, we are going to introduce drone policing in certain areas to ensure that we are visible. This in a bid to normalise and stabilise problematic areas or hot spots such as this one. Our slogan is squeezing the space for criminals through a declaration of a psychological war, for being everywhere all the time. They won’t have anywhere to go,” Sitole said.
Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele has called for better collaboration between communities and the police, stating that: “Policing has changed and this means Police stations are no longer the centre of policing, streets should be centre of policing. More boots and blue lights on the ground not only means police officers are visible at all times to deter criminality but officers should also be quick to respond to the needs of communities.”
The launch of the “Country in Blue” concept took place on Saturday (25 September) at the Inanda police precinct in Durban – an area that recorded the highest rated of contact crimes in recent years. The Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele, Deputy Minister, Mr. Cassel Mathale, SAPS National Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, provincial commissioners, Community Policing Forum leaders and Traditional leaders all attended the event.
Sources: MSN, Africa Top Forum
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