​Thembisa Shologu
President Cyril Ramaphosa has implored the police to interface with communities daily. 
Addressing the Police Summit on Tuesday at the Emperors Palace Convention Centre, President Ramaphosa emphasized that from the summit government needed a clear plan on how to involve communities in crime prevention and detection better.
This also includes harnessing the potential of Community Policing Forums (CPFs) in line with relevant legislation and regulations. These forums hold great promise for communities. 
The inaugural three-day event seeks to address the high crime levels in South Africa by reflecting on current policing approaches and developing more effective methods for the South African Police Service (SAPS).
"Just as crime is an all-of-society problem, overcoming crime must be an all-of-society effort. To build on these successes, we need to restore public trust and faith in the police. 
"Citizens must be empowered to actively participate in crime prevention efforts through collaboration, awareness and community-driven initiatives to create safer neighbourhoods. 
"We know that communities are the most potent resource for fighting crime. Crimes happen in communities, and criminals are often known to communities," said Ramaphosa. 
He said that crime was a cause of insecurity and instability in communities, weakening the social fabric.
He cited poverty and inequality, unemployment, lack of opportunity, patriarchy and misogyny, and broken family structures as some of the issues that contribute to crime and criminality. 
"Crime directly impacts the economy; it discourages investment, disrupts business activity and leads to increased security costs for companies. Crime is also a symptom of broader problems in society. 
"Addressing crime without understanding its root causes is like a doctor treating a patient for a fever without diagnosing the underlying illness," said the president. 
Ramaphosa said that the country owed the SAPS their full support to turn the tide against crime and to make communities safer. 
He highlighted the need to improve the morale of SAPS members, many of whom were battling heavy workloads, insufficient resources, and outdated systems. 
"Even as the SAPS budget has increased over the past ten years, the reality is that the number of police personnel has been declining while the country's population has been growing.
"The resources of the police are stretched extremely thin. This means that we must work better and smarter by using existing resources more effectively," Ramaphosa said. 
In addition, he said that the government needed to build on existing best practices and develop sustainable cooperation models that deliver measurable results. 
He further encouraged the usage of modern technologies to harness and support crime-fighting trends and patterns. 
"We therefore welcome the focus of this Summit on exploring the role of technology in modern policing, investigation and intelligence. 
"We need to embrace technology because technology does work, particularly where we face constraints of having real boots on the ground, and it can utilize even the modern applications of artificial intelligence to enhance our sense of safety, and this is what we now need to do," President Ramaphosa said.
He said the government needed to deal with concerns amongst communities of corrupt police.
Moreover, he stressed that a culture of honesty and integrity in the police service has to be instilled.
"Not all police officials or officers are corrupt, but the community that we serve often articulate a concern that a number of the police who are serving them are corrupt.
"Now, we need to address this. We should have police who avoid being tempted into corrupt activities. We have to instil a culture of honesty and integrity in the police," said the president.