CP- CRIME POLICY

Crime is the single biggest issue threatening South Africa’s democracy today. It reaches out over economic, race and cultural barriers with impunity and the cost to our nation and its economy is devastating.
The Holy Bible gives us a very clear answer to the question of why crime is:
Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Why do people commit crime so readily? Because crime is not punished quickly enough.”
We believe that the solution lies in a principled approach where all the different role-players act in unison with only one vision: all crime must be punished as quickly and efficiently as possible to act as deterrent to perpetrators.
We must become a society that condemns and punishes all antisocial behaviour in the shortest time possible. Government and the criminal justice system have allowed a situation to develop where the rights of the criminal weighs heavier than that of the victim. This must be reversed if we want to win the war for the “soul of the South African society.”
Our approach would rest on the following pillars:
• changing the moral fiber of our society.
• Restoring trust in the police and the criminal justice system.
• Role of the government.
• Capital punishment.
• Restitution.
• Correctional services.

We suggest a holistic approach where all role players in society will work together to create a society that obeys God and His laws. Government will be respected and its laws obeyed, there will be respect for all fellow South Africans.
The process will start in the home and schools where parents, teachers and churches will play an active role in changing attitudes and cultivate respect for authority. All children should learn to respect human dignity and the right to life from a tender age.
We will start by taking our schools, neighbourhoods and towns back and bring them under the control of the community. The “Broken Window” theory that was used with great success in New York will serve as a guide to restore authority and dignity in our country.

The “Broken Window” theory aptly fits the South African crime scenario and indicates that run down communities are more susceptible to crime because they are neglected by everybody. Communities must take back what belongs to them and mend that which is broken. We must ensure oversight over all the role-players in the crime fighting sector to rectify all that has failed.
Corruption, laziness and sub-standard performance and work ethics by teachers, municipal officials and civil servants must be rooted out at all costs. The citizens of this country have a right to demand top performance from all state departments and offices. Local governments should be required to ensure that all bylaws are enforced and adhered to. There must be a zero tolerance approach to any officials found negligent in this regard. Strict adherence to rules and regulations in all our communities will form the foundation of a crime free society.
All illegal shebeens and taverns in neighbourhoods should be shut down and operators prosecuted. No loiterers, vagrants or prostitutes should be allowed to stand on street corners, particularly in close proximity of schools. Schools should employ very strict rules on behaviour, discipline, weapons, drugs, alcohol and smoking. Random searches at schools should take place weekly! No public place should be allowed to serve alcohol to persons under the age of 21.
Additionally, trust and confidence in the SAPS and the criminal justice system needs to be restored! Many surveys have clearly indicated there many citizens believe that the SAPS and the criminal justice system are unable to effectively arrest, prosecute and punish criminals. The majority of SAPS members are considered corrupt. South Africans have lost all faith in the system. Subsequently, criminals know that they face little, if any, conflict from authorities and go about their horrific business with impunity. Where justice is not seen to be done, anarchy soon follows. The breakdown trust between civil society and the law enforcement agencies is a massive obstacle in the fight against crime.
We should start our spring cleaning campaign with an audit of the criminal records all SAPS members. All found guilty of offences shall have to find employment elsewhere. The current labour laws which allow policemen accused of criminal activity to remain on active duty must be scrapped with all due haste. Any SAPS member that is charged for a criminal offence must immediately be suspended and terminated after a departmental hearing. Any high ranking officer’s contract must immediately be terminated. (Jackie Selebi’s extension of his contract stands in stark contrast.) South African taxpayers should not be expected to foot the bills of corrupt police officers accused of criminal behaviour! They must pay their own legal fees. A system where the public can recall any senior police officer should be implemented immediately.
Concurrently, a complete an audit of SAPS resources and skills must be undertaken. Those employees without the required qualifications and skills must be trained, demoted or retrenched if they do not meet the required standards. This is vital to ensure that all positions are filled with the necessary qualified, trained and dedicated officers to ensure that the SAPS will achieve the vision that all crime must be punished as quickly and as effectively as possible.
Universities and institutes could assist in researching and developing a best practice model for a police force for South Africa. This would include organizational design and resource models needed to combat crime in the most efficient way. Specialized units with specific skills and functions should also be addressed in this model.
The research should highlight all reforms required to align our criminal justice system with the vision of punishing crime in a fast and efficient manner. This should naturally include court management and procedures, prosecution of criminals, special units, training and development and implementation and monitoring of all aforementioned areas.
We should take a hard-line approach in restoring faith in our policing, legal and criminal justice systems. Government’s role should be to ensure that the necessary fiscal and legislative policies are in place to bring about the reforms required. The primary objective is to ensure that law abiding citizens are protected and that criminals are punished. Our current government fails to fulfill this duty.
Capital punishment for certain crimes with the provision of an automatic right of appeal against the conviction and sentence must be reintroduced. Capital punishment is necessary for justice, for the rule of law and for the protection of the innocent. Currently the perpetrators of violence enjoy more rights than that of the law abiding citizens. Any offence committed that carries the possibility of the death penalty should be regarded as the voluntary waiving of the perpetrators right to life, and is therefore, not against the Bill of Rights.
Additionally, restorative justice should be incorporated into our judicial system to force the state to compensate victims. This would ensure that Correctional Services facilities are not deemed to be institutes of higher learning for criminals. Currently, victims of crime are taxed to fund our prisons that provide food, accommodation and entertainment to criminals at a level that the victims themselves don’t often enjoy! We believe that victims and their relatives must be compensated by the criminals for their losses. Victim empowerment should enjoy high priority and criminals should be taxed in Rand and cents for their crimes. Repeat offenders must complete the balance of sentences before commencing subsequent ones. Sentences for violent youths should be the same as that of adult offenders.
Correctional services should be institutions where criminals repay their debts to society and not state-run resorts where prisoners are treated as special guests. This would necessitate a far reaching overhaul of the organizational structure and mandate of correctional services.
All inmates should be required to work productively to repay society for their misconduct. With South Africa’s development requirements, prisoners can play a major role in building infrastructure in the country. After WW II returning soldiers did manual labour and built irrigation channels and dams. Irrigation schemes such as Vaalharts and dams like Loskop were built in this way. Correctional supervision must be strictly applied and any transgression would result in immediate loss of freedom. A life sentence should be just that – life behind bars with no chance of parole. Those appealing their sentences must remain imprisoned and no bail should be granted after sentences are handed down because of a pending appeal.
The Christian Party would rethink the draconian firearm ownership legislation since it has had no impact on reducing the crime rate whatsoever. The right of citizens to protect themselves and their families must be protected.
The Christian Party believes that this policy will reduce the crime rate in our country and contribute to the well being of all our citizens.

http://www.cp.org.za/images/CP_Crime_Policy_2008.pdf