The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Mpumalanga will write to Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC, Jackie Macie, asking him to urgently review the Crime Prevention Wardens (CPWs) program in the province by implementing clear strategies for their proper utilization, and ensure they receive adequate training to fulfil their intended role in crime prevention.
This is after the DA received shocking reports that CPWs in the province are not utilised at all; instead, they allegedly sit idly under trees, and in some cases, even washing police vans.
In September 2024, the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison (DCSSL) deployed 1200 Crime Prevention Wardens to work with police officers across 90 Police Stations in the province in an effort to combat crime. They were deployed on a monthly stipend of R3 500 in line with the Public Employment Programme. This is a program that was meant to bolster law enforcement efforts and act as a force multiplier to the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Mpumalanga.
The DA has also been informed that Station Commanders at the police stations have refused to utilize these CPWs claiming that they lack the basic training needed to combat crime. According to reports, these wardens received only five days of training from different private security companies throughout the province, covering Grade E and D levels under the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) standards. These basic levels of training are typically designed for security guards, not law enforcement personnel. This level of training is usually done for individuals who guard entrance points at boom gates. The DA has also learned that the CPWs have not even undergone firearm training.
It is deeply concerning that individuals with such minimal preparation are now expected to assist the police in conducting raids, policing activities, and patrolling communities.
Despite the DAs previous efforts to guide the department in its planning and providing multiple solutions in dealing with the deployment of these CPWs crime to ensure that they were strategically placed in areas with policing gaps within the province, this has not materialized. Instead, we received these shocking reports that the CPWs sit idly under trees, and in some cases, even washing police vans; clear evidence of a failed initiative.
We are seriously concerned about this level of mismanagement and poor execution in terms of deployment of the CPWs, especially that they are getting a stipend of over R7 000 for sitting under trees and washing police vans.
The Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety is repeating the same mistakes that were made in Gauteng Province when they introduced their own Crime Prevention Wardens. But in this instance, the Mpumalanga MEC had the opportunity to consult with their counterparts in Gauteng with regards to where they went wrong to avoid the disaster that is now happening in the deployment of CPW’s in Mpumalanga.
Instead of reinforcing crime-fighting efforts, the failure to properly train and deploy these wardens has rendered them ineffective, wasting both resources and opportunities to improve public safety.
The DA calls on the MEC to urgently review this program, to implement a clear strategy for the proper utilization of wardens, and ensure they receive adequate training to fulfil their intended role in crime prevention. One week’s training is simply not enough for the tasks that will be asked of them.