Ekurhuleni: President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a bold, coordinated, and community-driven approach to crime-fighting, describing policing in South Africa as being at a crossroads that demands urgent reform and collaboration from across all sectors of society. The President was delivering the keynote address at the 2025 Policing Summit held in Ekurhuleni on Tuesday.
According to South African Government News Agency, President Ramaphosa applauded the Ministry of Police for convening what he termed a ‘critical’ gathering, which brings together government, civil society, business, interfaith groups, labour, and communities to reshape the country’s safety and security strategy. He emphasized the need for a proactive, innovative, and solution-oriented approach to safeguarding the nation, highlighting that crime is an all-of-society problem that requires an all-of-society effort to overcome.
The President noted that crime has a direct impact on the economy by discouraging investment, disrupting business activity, and increasing security costs for companies. Addressing root causes such as poverty, inequality, unemployment, lack of opportunity, patriarchy, misogyny, and broken family structures is essential for understanding and tackling crime.
He stressed the importance of grounding policing in the Batho Pele principles of service delivery, which include respect, empathy, accessibility, and accountability. The President acknowledged the complexity of the current policing environment, noting challenges like transnational organized crime, illegal mining, extortion syndicates, and money laundering, while praising the South African Police Service for its continued successes in fighting crime.
Restoring public trust in the police is critical, the President warned, as is improving relationships between the police and communities. He called for stronger roles for Community Policing Forums, citizen empowerment, and partnerships with the private sector to enhance victim support centres and frontline capacity.
The President welcomed the summit’s focus on exploring technology’s role in modern policing, stressing the need for modern technologies to support crime-fighting through data analysis and citizen empowerment. He advocated applying a socio-economic lens to crime data to better tailor responses to issues like substance abuse and gender-based violence.
Addressing corruption within the police service is crucial, the President stated, urging police to avoid corrupt activities and emphasizing the importance of prosecuting corrupt officers while instilling a culture of honesty and integrity. He highlighted the need for ethics, accountability, and professionalism as fundamental to strengthening policing.
The President expressed hope that the summit would promote ethical conduct, restore public trust in law enforcement, and uphold the rule of law. Key initiatives include protecting whistleblowers, implementing the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, and improving recruitment and training to attract qualified candidates to the police service.
Concluding his address, President Ramaphosa urged for a clear plan to address systemic deficiencies in policing, expressing the government’s commitment to turning the tide against crime and making communities safer, with the hope that summit recommendations lead to deeper collaboration and more effective policing methods in South Africa.