The long-standing relationship between the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC), was reaffirmed when the two parties committed themselves to cooperating in intensifying the fight against bank-related and cash-in-transit crimes.
A high-level delegation from the SAPS and SABRIC attended a two-day strategic workshop in Pretoria on 4 and 5 March 2015. A joint strategy for combating bank-related and cash-in-transit crimes was developed and the memorandum of understanding, which was first agreed upon in 2001, was renewed.
In the frank discussions between the two parties, factors that hindered the successful implementation of the memorandum of understanding and the low success rates in arresting suspects involved in bank-related and cash-in-transit crimes, were identified.
To achieve the desired results, the SAPS and SABRIC will, among other things, cooperate in educating the public about bank-related and cybercrimes, increase the capacity in the SAPS to administer cyber-related commercial crime, enhance the intelligence capabilities between the SAPS and the industry and to ensure, as a matter of urgency, that the top-20 bank and cash-in-transit criminals in every province and at Head Office, are arrested. The so-called ‘cold cases’ related to bank and cash-in-transit crimes, will be reopened to determine whether these had been thoroughly investigated and the detectives had explored all avenues.
Joining forces with SABRIC supports the SAPS’s crime prevention strategy, which involves the community, the public and other stakeholders in playing an important role in the fight against crime.
In her address, the National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Riah Phiyega, said: “We believe that part of our success lies in community policing because it enhances our ability to deliver.” She said that the SAPS will not reject the olive branch being extended by SABRIC, or any other entity willing to help the SAPS in fighting crime.
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