Restoring trust in law enforcement: new national crime prevention framework is needed
Statement by Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, MP, UDM Deputy President and Leader in Parliament
Only 22 percent of South Africans still trust the police. That figure, revealed by the Human Sciences Research Council, is not a statistic; it is a national alarm bell. A country without faith in its police cannot guarantee justice or safety.
In recent weeks, incidents of citizens burning police vehicles and attacking officers have become a tragic symptom of how deeply fractured the relationship between law enforcement and communities has become. These acts cannot be condoned, yet they reveal the frustration and despair of people who feel abandoned and unprotected.
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has long warned that the erosion of trust in the police is not accidental. It stems from years of poor leadership, internal misconduct, and weak accountability. As a political party that has consistently championed ethical governance and professional policing, the UDM has repeatedly called on the South African Police Services (SAPS) to clean up its act, restore command integrity, strengthen internal discipline, and rebuild the professional standards expected of a constitutional democracy. When police officers act without consequence, ordinary South Africans lose hope, and criminal networks thrive.
The ongoing Madlanga Commission continues to shed light on the seriousness of the challenges facing the police service. Allegations raised during these hearings have underscored the need for the SAPS to confront corruption and mismanagement head on, to ensure that law enforcement serves the public interest and not private agendas. The UDM believes the Commission provides an important opportunity for the police to reflect, reform, and rebuild credibility through transparency and truth.
The Ad Hoc Committee in Parliament has become an important platform for uncovering the depth of dysfunction within the SAPS and its oversight structures. While the UDM is not represented on this committee, we will continue to follow its work closely and insist that it leads to concrete reforms, not political theatre. Oversight must be used to restore the integrity of policing, not to manage scandal. The South African public is watching, and it deserves a process that results in accountability, not performance.
The UDM condemns the failure of Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and National Commissioner Fannie Masemola to appear before the Portfolio Committee on Police on 15 October 2025. Their absence forced the committee to defer the meeting without hearing from key entities, including the Auditor General. This disregard for Parliament’s oversight at a time of crisis undermines accountability and sends the wrong message to the public.
South Africa cannot afford another cycle of delays, denials, or political protection. The UDM calls for a complete overhaul of South Africa’s approach to crime prevention and policing, anchored in the following principles:
1. The SAPS must be depoliticised and led by skilled, ethical professionals who are committed to service, accountability, and the rule of law.
2. Government must coordinate policing, social development, and education programmes to address the root causes of crime, including poverty, youth unemployment, and substance abuse.
3. Law enforcement visibility must be increased through better resourced police stations, functional patrol units, and active Community Policing Forums that work in partnership with residents.
4. The SAPS must modernise its operations by investing in technology, digital forensics, and intelligence-led policing to stay ahead of organised crime.
5. Independent oversight bodies such as the Independent Police Investigative Directorate and parliamentary committees must be strengthened to ensure transparency, swift investigation of misconduct, and regular public reporting.
6. The criminal justice system must focus not only on punishment but also on prevention, rehabilitation, and social reintegration, so that cycles of violence are broken and communities are rebuilt.
The UDM further urges the Government of National Unity to establish a National Crime Prevention Council that brings together national, provincial, and local law enforcement agencies with civil society, the private sector, and research institutions. Such a structure must coordinate intelligence, align policing priorities, and measure progress on crime reduction across the country. South Africa needs a whole of government response that unites every sphere of the state in restoring safety and public trust.
Safety is a constitutional right, not a privilege. Weak leadership weakens justice. The UDM calls on the Government of National Unity to treat crime prevention and police reform as an urgent national priority, not another task for committees and talk shops. The GNU must move beyond rhetoric and deliver a coordinated, well resourced, and accountable plan to rebuild trust between citizens and the state. South Africans deserve a police service that protects them, not one they fear, and a government that acts, not one that explains.
