Premier Alan Winde on Business Against Crime at his safety digicon

This week, Premier Alan Winde hosted Mr Hubert Paulse, Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) Western Cape Chairperson, at his regular digicon on safety.

The Premier emphasised in his opening remarks, “We cannot fight crime alone. We stand a better chance by collaborating and sharing resources.”

This was among the key reasons why BACSA, a non-profit organisation, was established in 1996 and has played a key role in building partnerships across South Africa between the private sector and law enforcement agencies to collaborate in the fight against crime.

BACSA was also represented at the Western Cape Government’s Multi-Sectoral Anti-Extortion Summit, held in Cape Town this week. The summit brought together several stakeholders, among them provincial government ministers, the South African Police Service (SAPS), the City of Cape Town (CoCT), and academics to discuss how to address extortion, which has reached crisis proportions nationwide.

“This was about the whole of government and society coming together to coordinate ourselves better to confront this 'cancer’ called extortion and to discuss how we are going to rid ourselves of this horrendous crime that impacts so many of our residents and businesses. It strangles economic growth and job creation. Daily, it threatens residents' safety and their livelihoods, robbing them of opportunities and their dignity and the only way we will eradicate “extortion mafias” is if we all work together,” stressed Premier Winde at the start of the digicon.

Mr Paulse stated that BACSA is a public-private partnership that exists for one clear purpose: to make South Africa safer. “Our message is simple but powerful. We foster collaboration with all stakeholders to fight crime. When we work together, we do not just reduce crime—we restore hope. And with hope comes confidence. Businesses become more willing to invest, and that investment leads to the creation of more jobs.”

The organisation runs several programmes that tackle:

Technology is the “eyes and ears” of crime-fighting efforts

Mr Paulse highlighted BACSA’s Ears and Eyes Initiative (E2) that has built a nationwide intelligence-gathering network. “E2 connects private security companies and other vetted role players directly to the SAPS’s provincial command centres. By using a growing network of surveillance technology, such as drones and licence plate recognition systems, we are extending the geographical footprint of law enforcement. The private security industry outnumbers the police service 4:1. We are using that geographical footprint to increase the operational response and awareness of the SAPS,” he said.

The E2 initiative has been fully embraced by the Western Cape, as Mr Paulse pointed out, “The Western Cape is the first province that has E2 controllers in all 6 policing districts. We do not believe that more boots on the ground alone will solve the problem. While law enforcement remains essential, we firmly believe that technology will be one of our greatest allies in the fight against crime.”

Premier Winde added, “Criminals are using technology. We have to be one better than them.”

A whole-of-society approach to addressing crime

Premier Winde also stressed the critical role of neighbourhood watches (NHWs) and community policing forums (CPFs) in combating and preventing crime. “That is exactly what our whole-of-society approach is about. There is no doubt that residents who form or join NHWs know more about what is going on in their areas than anyone else, and they form essential partnerships with SAPS and municipal law enforcement. This enables residents to play a more meaningful role.”

“We call it ‘community-oriented policing’. That is what we are promoting,” added Mr Paulse.

To watch a recording of the digicon please visit:
https://youtu.be/qwm55SqIP9k?si=TcDHCYipIaXprWZW

Western Cape Provincial Safety Council

Ahead of the digicon, the Premier chaired a meeting of the Western Cape Provincial Safety Council, which included representatives from the CoCT, SAPS, Provincial Disaster Management Centre and the Institute for Security Studies.

The Premier welcomed the recent proposal by Police Minister Senzo Mchunu to grant more powers to metro law enforcement bodies. He encouraged the public to submit comments on the proposed revisions to the applicable legislation. He said, “This is a positive step forward. It does not matter who you are – national government, provincial governments, or civil society – we must all be obsessed and driven by the same thing: to build a safer, prosperous province and country.”

The council received an update on the implementation of the Safer City Collaboration Cooperation Agreement. The Cooperation Agreement was signed in August 2024, normalising a commitment by all spheres of government to work closely together to improve safety and security in Cape Town. It was resolved that work will be intensified to ensure the various workstreams outlined in the agreement are finalised and driven hard.

The agreement will, among other things, expand resource and intelligence-sharing between the SAPS, province and municipal law enforcement.

The council condemned the recent mini-bus taxi-related violence in parts of Cape Town.

Premier Alan Winde said: “It is intolerable that disputes are ‘negotiated’ through the barrel of a gun. But on a day when we are also highlighting the power of partnerships, I want to commend all the role players—from provincial traffic and city law enforcement to SAPS and our officials—for the speed and coordination with which they responded to the violence and threats. You truly showed how powerful we can be when we work together.”

Council representatives also reaffirmed their commitment to working with the minibus taxi industry to ensure that any issues are resolved through the proper forums.

Enquiries:
Regan Thaw
Media Liaison Officer to the Premier
Cell: 083 627 7246
E-mail: Regan.Thaw@westerncape.gov.za

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