Short-term insurance industry contributes R500 000 to police

Joint media release: The South African Insurance Association (SAIA), Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) and the Gauteng Provincial Police Service

5 December 2007

The fight against crime continues: Short-term insurance industry contributes R500 000 to police in-service training in Gauteng

The South African Insurance Association (SAIA) announced today, 5 December 2007, that the short-term insurance industry will sponsor the training of 500 police officers in Gauteng. The value of this sponsorship is R500 000.

“The time has come that all South African individuals, companies and institutions join hands with the authorities to fight crime. The unacceptable levels of crime in this country impact all of us. It is for this reason that the SAIA has decided to make a contribution towards improving crime in general, in addition to the contribution it has been making towards the fight against vehicle crime in the past five years,” said SAIA's spokesperson, at a joint media conference held at the Gauteng Provincial Police Service Head Office in Parktown, Johannesburg.

Business Against Crime South Africa, National Projects Manager, Lorinda Nel, said that a need for a short course on detective training was identified by the Gauteng Provincial Police Service earlier this year. Business Against Crime South Africa in cooperation with the Gauteng Provincial Police Service, together with PACE Consultants, a SASSETA recognized training provider, took up this challenge in August 2007. A short course was designed and successfully piloted with 41 participating detectives. Following the pilot training, amendments were made to the course to address police specific requirements, and aimed at enhancing the value added to the detectives in fulfilling their functions.

“When we were approached with the opportunity to sponsor this training intervention, we believed at the outset that this was a very worthy project. Not only will the training assist the detectives in Gauteng in enhancing the performance of their duties, thus making a difference with regards to their response to the crime situation, but better detection methods could also ultimately lead to improved prosecution in order to add deterrence to the fight against crime,” added SAIA's spokesperson.

The Provincial Commissioner of Gauteng, Commissioner Perumal Naidoo, said that on going training and development is crucial to effective service delivery. The contribution made by the South African Insurance Association and the partnership with Business Against Crime is indicative of the seriousness with which we want to make life as difficult as we possibly can for criminals.

The Commissioner added that partnership strengthens the hands of the police and expressed his appreciation for the kind gesture of the South African Insurance Association.

Business Against Crime added that this capacity building initiative is fundamental to the national fight against crime, especially as detectives are placed under increasing pressure as the high levels of crime continues. More effective and efficient investigations of crime, especially serious crime, is essential to the overall strategy aimed at achieving a ‘step change’ in the levels of crime in the country. We applaud the Gauteng Police in taking this bold step and the insurance industry for their ongoing support in this venture.

“The SAIA believes that South Africa can win the fight against crime through involvement and partnerships. The existing partnership with Business Against Crime, and the partnership we now have with the Gauteng Provincial Police Service, are extremely important to us,” concluded SAIA's spokesperson. “Let us all join in the fight against crime.”

For more information, contact:

Viviene Pearson

SAIA Manager: Image & Reputation

Tel: 011 726 5381

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Business Against Crime South Africa

Lorinda Nel

National Projects Manager

Tel: 011 - 883 0717

E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Gauteng Provincial Police Service

Director G Mariemuthoo

Provincial Head

Tel: 011 274 7862

E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it