Restructuring to improve police performance

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The restructuring underway at the South African Police Service (SAPS) is aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness within the police, especially in their fight against crime.

The restructuring is based on the revised SAPS Draft Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) strategy 2015/2019. It will, among others, split recently merged divisions and establish a new national management division. This division, to be under a Deputy National Commissioner, will include a police inspectorate to deal with problems at provincial and station levels.

Deputy National Commissioners will also be reduced from six to three.

The crime intelligence and protection services will now be separated into divisions – strategy, research, facility management and a research institute.

Speaking to the media on the new structure, Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Johannes Phahlane said it will ensure the police have a hold on crime.

Phahlane said the new structure will streamline the work of the police so they can have maximum impact, especially in core operational responsibilities such as policing and crime detection. They will ensure accountability at all levels, as there will be continuous assessment of performance and compliance.
“The aim of the new structure is to be responsive to current challenges and demands. This relates directly to our Back to Basics plan,” he said.

The plan will help management to better manage their responsibilities. The restructuring, Phahlane said, was done after a thorough analysis of the SAPS performance.

The analysis showed there were deficiencies and key challenges, especially in fundamental functions of policing such as crime prevention, crime investigation and crime intelligence, which needed urgent and focused action from SAPS.

Phahlane said they consulted the Minister, Portfolio Committee on Police, SAPS senior managers and labour structures over the new structure. He said the restructuring team had to deliver soonest as “the safety of our people cannot be compromised”.