INTRODUCTION

The transformation of the South African Police Service (SAPS) is aimed at meeting the requirements of the constitution, the policies of the South African government, and the urgent need to create a safe and secure environment for all South African citizens.

The SAPS RDP victim support programme is one of five interlinked programmes devised to support the transformation process, and to help change old priorities into new ones. Victim support is a relatively new area for the SAPS, and is regarded as crucial to true community policing. Although the SAPS victim support programme is an RDP initiative, clearly it also has to link up with the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) victim empowerment and support programme.

Community policing is a philosophy or approach that guides the methodology of policing, and is based on the assumption that the primary objective of policing – ensuring the safety and security for all individuals and communities – can only be achieved through a collaborative effort by the police, other government institutions, NGOs, community structures, and individual citizens.

Therefore, a major objective of community policing is to establish an active partnership between the police and the public for determining which areas of crime and other safety-related issues need to be attended to most urgently, and devising and implementing appropriate solutions.

Community policing also implies a shift from law enforcement to a service orientation that will address the root causes of crime and violence. It should also be noted that the philosophy of community policing – together with the constitutional framework, the Police Service Act, and the draft policy document of the ministry of safety and security – provides a comprehensive framework for the transformation of the SAPS. As such, community policing influences the goals, objectives and actions of all components within the service, as well as the attitudes, behaviour and actions of all police officials and employees.

In order to fulfil its mandate, the SAPS must thus be guided by the constitution, and the conditions shaping the nature of our society. These conditions, together with the constitutional framework, in turn inform the vision, mission and values of the service. It is in this context that community policing has to emerge and be consolidated.

THE SAPS RDP VICTIM SUPPORT PROGRAMME

The white paper on the RDP emphasises the development and empowerment of vulnerable groups. The responsibility for this is assigned to the office of the president and the departments of safety and security, welfare, health, and education. Responsibility for empowering the community in respect of safety and security matters such as crime awareness, crime prevention, human rights, police procedures and victim aid is specifically assigned to the department of safety and security. Similarly, the victim empowerment and support programme of the NCPS states that the role and rights of victims are vital in addressing the effects of crime, and creating crime-resistant communities.

This programme is aimed at making the criminal justice process, and therefore also the police, more victim-friendly, accessible, sensitive and service-oriented, and developing programmes to help minimise the negative effects of crime on its victims. Empowerment implies a greater role for victims in the criminal justice process, and their becoming resistant to repeat victimisation.

STATUS OF THE SAPS VICTIM SUPPORT PROGRAMME

Community policing requires specific programmes or initiatives to protect and assist vulnerable groups and individuals. In practice, this means that more attention should be given to, among others:

victim assistance programmes;



youth liaison and diversion schemes; and



multi-agency strategies aimed at dealing with domestic violence as well as the safety concerns of women and children.

Because the police do not have the resources, time, authority or expertise to satisfy the needs of all vulnerable groups or individuals, it is important that effective multi-agency partnerships and referral strategies be developed. Programmes should also preferably be tailored to local needs and circumstances, and should only be launched where there is a specific local need.

The approach of the SAPS thus needs to be interdepartmental, intersectoral and multidisciplinary, and services ought to be rendered in a collaborative and co-ordinated manner. With this in mind, wide consultation regarding the development of an SAPS victim support programme has already taken place. The process got under way with a workshop held on 23 August 1995, attended by 36 participants.

There has been much deliberation within the SAPS on the role of the police in victim support. A national SAPS victim support programme forum was brought to life in January 1996. Although many internal problems/concerns still exist within this forum, some progress has been made. Some consultations with SAPS provincial offices have also taken place. A national development forum and ministerial committee have been established to manage the spending of SAPS RDP funds.

External to the SAPS, only limited individual consultations with academics, NGOs and representatives of other national government departments have taken place. At provincial level, however, there has been considerable consultation with the relevant stakeholders during the planning, and, in some instances, establishment of victim support centres.

Thus far, broad guidelines have been established in respect of the following:

the definition of 'victim';



the definition of 'victim support programme';



the role of the SAPS in respect of victim support;



who the role players/stakeholders in a victim support programme ought to be;



developing a shared vision of victim support in South Africa;



what is needed in terms of victim support: and



how the different role players/stakeholders could work together

SCOPE OF WORK OF THE SAPS VICTIM SUPPORT PROGRAMME

According to the NCPS, rape, domestic violence and crime against children require a special focus because of their prevalence and their negative impact on society as a whole. With this in mind, the first support (crisis) centre for victims of sexual and domestic violence – the prototype for other centres – was opened on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth on 27 January 1996. Similar centres are being planned in Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, Western Cape and Northern Cape. The aim is to have at least one victim support centre per province, in traditionally under-resourced areas. SAPS counter staff will all be specially trained to take statements sensitively.

Similarly, all police officials will be trained in the appropriate and skilful handling and referral of victims.

This will entail:

training in interpersonal and communication skills;



enabling all police officials to provide basic psychological first aid at the scene of the crime;



enabling police officials to educate and inform victims in respect of legal processes and available community resources for assistance and treatment; and



enabling police officials to serve as referral agents to these services.

The SAPS will thus assume initial responsibility for victims, while the actual assistance and support will be provided by relevant government departments (health, welfare, justice, etc) as well as NGOs and community-based organisations.

The SAPS helping professions and training section, in collaboration with academics and service providers, is responsible for:

designing a curriculum for training in victimology, victim support and trauma management;



training trainers in victim support and stress and trauma management;



setting up a referral system and resource directory of counselling and support services for the use of SAPS personnel;



facilitating a process through which a referral system and resource directory can be established for the community at large; and



encouraging the co-ordination of counselling services for victims of crime and violence provided by NGOs and CBOs (ie, a victim support infrastructure).

The SAPS will also facilitate the establishment of services to assist:

battered/raped women;



abused and traumatised children; and



children in conflict with the law

Facilitation, or supporting victim/offender mediation, also falls within the perceived scope of work, as does the running of crime prevention programmes. For instance, this could include:

advice and guidance on a preventive lifestyle; and



raising awareness through providing information to the general public.

MILESTONES FOR THE SAPS VICTIM SUPPORT PROGRAMME

These are:

the establishment of sustainable and effective crisis (support) centres and support mechanisms by and within communities, to aid service delivery by the SAPS;



the implementation of an integrated training curriculum for police officials;



the establishment of effective support mechanisms for victims of crime and violence within the SAPS;



community participation in victim support, and in addressing the root causes; and



customer satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

Given the extremely high rate of crime and violence in South Africa, it goes without saying that there are many victims of crime. Taking into consideration the limited, unco-ordinated and ineffective support services for victims, it can also be assumed that many of these victims go untreated.

However, the SAPS regards victim support as an essential crime prevention strategy; in the light of the dire need for stability, reconstruction and development, South Africa can no longer afford to neglect the needs and rights of victims. As such the NCPS victim empowerment and support programme implies a comprehensive redesign and reconstruction of existing victim support initiatives. Similar to the RDP itself, the SAPS victim support programme represents a vision (of a victim-centred restorative justice system); as well as appropriate processes (such as policy, consultation, etc); structures (such as a co-ordinating body for service providers); programmes; and projects (such as new training curriculae for police officials).

Clearly, the SAPS victim support programme reflects all the basic principles of the RDP, and in improving the criminal justice system, will also go a long way towards preventing crime and combating the feelings of helplessness on the part of victims.