Perhaps it would help if, when crimals were caught by the police that they stayed caught and not let out by our wonderful Justice system!

Regards
Nikki



By Boyd Webb and Sapa

The spiralling violence in the country's suburbs, schools and streets has prompted the cabinet to repeat its call for a collective effort to fight crime, acknowledging it cannot succeed alone.

This comes in the same week as religious leaders proposed the anti-crime equivalent of the National Peace Accord, established in the 1990s to deal with political violence.

"Government welcomes the recent call by church leaders for social mobilisation in the fight against violent crime," said government spokesperson Themba Maseko.

While the government accepted that primary responsibility lay with the police, Maseko said: "No police service or efforts will succeed without the involvement of communities and all sectors in our society. The police cannot win the war alone."

He said the executive had noted with deep concern the incidents of violence in schools.

The cabinet was told that the police were making "tremendous" progress in the fight against crime with significant breakthroughs in the investigation of cash-in-transit heists.

"There is ample evidence to indicate that we are making significant progress, especially in the fight against organised crime."

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel this week announced a 9,4 percent increase in spending on the criminal-justice system over the next three years.

"When the police arrest these bloodthirsty criminals they will be able to face justice in our courts as quickly as possible after their arrests," Maseko said.

Following the recent xenophobic killings of Somalis in the Western Cape, Maseko said there was "tremendous progress" in tracking down the killers.

"Cabinet is taking an active interest in this matter because of the negative perceptions being created both locally and abroad about the fact that South Africans are against a number of foreigners, particularly Somalis."

Cabinet was also briefed about "concerning events" in KwaZulu Natal where more than 1 000 self-proclaimed war veterans invaded farms, demanding integration into the National Defence Force.

Maseko said Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota was mandated to "deal with this matter as quickly as possible" and would meet the parties next week.




This article was originally published on page 6 of The Star on October 27, 2006