The Portfolio Committee on Police and the People’s Republic of China Judicial Affairs Committee, have re-emphasised their commitment to bilateralism and multilateralism in the effort to fight crime.
The committees made the commitment during a bilateral engagement conducted by the Portfolio Committee on Police with the National People’s Congress Supervisory and Judicial Affairs Committee of the People’s Republic of China, to share ideas and best practices in an effort to fight crime in their respective countries and the world.
The meeting was attended by delegates of both committees and took place in a cordial spirit of cooperation, and builds on the bilateral agreement between the respective countries to learn from one another.
Police Committee Chairperson, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, said that both committees re-emphasised their commitment to bilateralism and multilateralism in the effort to fight crime, especially in respect of the emerging threat posed by cybercrime and organised crime.
“The committees emphasised the centrality of community based policing as a necessary platform to fighting crime,” Joemat-Pettersson said.
A good relationship between the police and the communities they serve was also highlighted, as a strong and obligatory pillar if the scourge of crime is to be defeated.
The chairperson said the collaboration between crime-fighting agencies across the world remains a necessary deterrent against cross-border crime that remains a threat to the livelihoods of the poor.
She said that both committees committed themselves to continuous engagement aimed at strengthening the relationship that already exists between the two countries and their respective legislatures.
“The sharing of ideas primarily aimed at strengthening crime fighting will also be strengthened because it is only through collaboration that crime will be defeated,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
