Pretoria - From rooting out corruption, strengthening the skills of detectives to cracking down of firearms - the police are determined to do whatever it takes to win the war on crime.
Outlining the South African Police Services (SAPS) short and medium term plans on Wednesday, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said police would fight crime toughly, smartly but within the confines of the law.
Priority would be given to improving the skills of detectives. "This includes not only increasing the number of detectives but also the quality of those we recruit. The success of this approach has been seen in the cooperation that has developed between the detective service, the Hawks and our Crime Intelligence," he said.
Mthethwa said the police would also aim to reduce crime by controlling firearm proliferation.
"A key focus for government is addressing the proliferation of firearms. We need to look at how we are implementing the Firearms Control Act, the manner in which we are controlling the weapons that are in the hands of the State (including the police) and the scourge of illegal firearms," he added.
Police were working with both communities and firearm owners to find ways of addressing the problem of illegal firearms.
He said police would make use of War Rooms, which had already been introduced in some provinces, in an attempt to outsmart criminals.
In the Western Cape, where these operations were first implemented, crime was reduced significantly.
"The most obvious success of the War Rooms is that improved, higher level linkage analysis and profiling of all criminals can be done expeditiously and smarter.
"This has been of major assistance with regard to provincial assistance to police stations, clustering investigation teams and focusing on crime series [dockets dealing with the same suspects, targets and/or modus operandi]," Mthethwa added.
Addressing the issue of violence against women and children, Mthethwa said police were re-establishing the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units - the specialised unit that deal with such crimes.
"Best practices have also been identified where FCS units and non-governmental organisations will be able to work together. There is a clear positive impact of these models in the turn-around times, detection and court readiness of dockets pertaining to FCS crimes," he said.
Mthethwa also reiterated his ministry's commitment to rooting out corruption within its ranks.
The Ministry would evaluate the way in which it addressed criminality within the SAPS, especially in Gauteng where a number of police officer have been arrested.
"Part of this process will require finding ways of dealing with people who have been convicted of serious offences.
"The process will also have to look seriously at disciplinary procedures and weaknesses that have allowed criminality to creep in," he said.
Mthethwa called on senior management to set the example for those officers under their command.
He added that crime fighting plans needed to be coordinated at a regional and international level in order for them to be successful.
For this reason government was engaging with bodies such as the Southern African Region Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO) and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
Mthethwa said his ministry had also committed itself to strengthening the criminal justice system by going a thorough job in carrying out investigations to ensure the criminals are convicted.
He added that fighting crime was not only government's responsibility
"We believe your experiences as a broader business fraternity enable you to better grasp and understand some of the key issues faced by police. Whether as multinationals operating in developing and developed economies, you have a vital role to play" he said.