WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2010-04-05 Time: 12:00:20 Posted By: News Poster
By Eleanor Momberg
The police Ministry has conceded the militarisation of police ranks is not a quick fix for the crime problem, and the newly named South African Police Force would continue to depend on the public’s aid to nab dangerous criminals.
“We are not that naive to believe if we call (police commissioner Bheki) Cele a general, criminals will run away,” said Zweli Mnisi, spokesman for Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa.
“We are aware of the fact that this is a process in progress and change will not come overnight.”
Mthethwa had said earlier the move should not be misinterpreted as merely the militarisation of the police, but as part of its new approach of being fierce to criminals.
Policing experts this week warned the force was saddling the wrong horse if it believed changing the ranks to a military structure would automatically see an improvement in discipline and policing.
“It is an idle dream,” said Johan Burger, senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies.
The new rank structure, which came into effect on Thursday, now sees police returning to pre-1995 militarised ranks of general, brigadier, colonel, major, captain, lieutenant, sergeant and constable. The police service is now referred to as the police force, as it was before 1994.
Burger said he was not opposed to the change in rank structure, but to change it and think policing would improve was laughable.
By militarising and becoming more aggressive in the hope the police would be more efficient and effective in the fight against crime, and morale would improve, would not solve problems that need long-term attention, he said.
“Changing the ranks will not improve discipline. More effective action against criminals will not automatically improve with this move. I am seriously appealing to the police to give urgent attention to discipline… to fix command and control, and see to it the police inspectorate becomes a properly functioning organ again.”
What kept the police on their toes was not their conscience, but the knowledge that through proper command and control, and regular inspections, they could be caught out not doing their jobs properly and steps would be taken against them.
Burger said while he understood the ranks were returned as part of a more aggressive policing policy, he believed it was a “hopeless attempt to grab at a solution for the extremely high crime statistics”.
Mnisi said changing the ranks was a human-resources exercise, which included addressing the upward mobility of members.
This meant experienced detectives no longer had to move into management to be promoted. They could remain in the detective service, but at a more senior level.
“This is a change in psyche and attitude. (We are not saying) we are changing the ranks so everything will improve overnight. It is a long-term process.”
Mnisi emphasised the war on crime had not been declared by the police and law-abiding citizens, but by heartless criminals.
Mthethwa had said for the police to achieve its objectives, certain steps had to be taken to win the war.
“This is a people’s war against criminals. For any force to discharge its tasks effectively there needs to be a commander, because wars are led by commanders.
“Our approach in the fight against crime is anchored by and large in intelligence work, partnerships with communities, review of the Criminal Justice Systems and what we have done over the past few months and years,” he said.
The introduction of the new ranks and more aggressive policies were not aimed at alienating the public, said Mnisi.
“This is not aimed at alienating the police from the community, because we cannot win the war against crime without the community,” he said.
The priority crime investigation unit, dubbed the Hawks, concurred, saying the public played a huge role in ensuring the arrest of the country’s most wanted criminals.
“The police clearly rely on law-abiding citizens for tip-offs,” said Hawks spokesman Musa Zondi.
The Hawks had changed focus and were working closely with crime intelligence to catch South Africa’s most wanted and dangerous criminals.
This enabled the unit to zoom in on these criminals, some of whom had been sought on warrants of arrest since 1996.
“We also take our cue from the government regarding policing priorities, especially in the campaign of reducing trio crimes, serious and violent crimes as well as contact crimes,” he said.
Earlier this year there was a campaign to arrest the country’s 10 most wanted cash-in-transit heist masterminds.
Zondi said that within the two-week deadline only seven had been arrested, but the remaining suspects had since been caught.
Last month a targeted campaign to arrest the six most wanted criminals in the Eastern Cape led to the arrest of 12 suspects, including the alleged killer of a policeman.
“This is not the end, and there will be more of these focused campaigns, targeting other areas as well,” he said.
Original Source: 
Original date published: 4 April 2010
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201004050699.html?viewall=1