Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) has reiterated its call for active partnerships between the South African Police Service (SAPS), business and the public to be elevated to fight crime effectively.

This follows a meeting last week between the Limpopo Police Management and stakeholders from the Security and Business sector on the concept of the “Eyes and Ears” initiative (E2).

E2 is an official joint crime fighting initiative between the South African Police Service (SAPS), Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) and the Private Security Industry (PSI) whereby the PSI formally cooperates with the SAPS by relaying information directly to the Provincial Operational Command Centre (POCC) and in some instances, receiving such relevant information directly from it.

The E2 project, which was also launched successfully in Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal, aims to ultimately give birth to the launch of the Safer City project in 10 cities. The E2 will be launched in Limpopo on 12 September and in the Eastern Cape during October. More than 100 private security companies are already actively involved the E2 initiative.

The National Project Manager at BACSA, Fouche Burgers, emphasised how the E2 project could give more impetus to crime-fighting initiatives.  Burgers says poverty, inequality, morality and addiction were drivers of violent crimes and called for more focus on education, health, housing and addiction support.

“The E2 initiative shows that the private sector and the SAPS can work together and should work together to ensure effective anti-crime fighting,” says Burgers. The stakeholders attending the event largely commended the SAPS in this province for their efforts in the fight against illegal mining, farm attacks and other serious crimes.

Launching the Community Policing Strategy in Polokwane after this event, the Limpopo Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nneke Ledwaba, called upon community members to stop taking the law into their own hands as this would derail efforts to fight crime.