Critical to beef up security, says parly police chairperson

Burglaries at key installations in the justice, crime prevention and security cluster point to gaps in security measures, the chairperson of parliament’s portfolio committee on police said yesterday.

“It’s critically important that there should be the necessary security measures at key installations within the justice and security cluster. This is non-negotiable,” said Francois Beukman, following the overnight break-in at the Gauteng North Director of Public Prosecutions in Pretoria.

“I think the recent break-ins indicate that there are certain lacunae in the application of security measures. There should be the necessary steps take by accounting officers to step up security so there’s confidence from the public that confidential information will be held securely.”

The burglary came less than a week after the headquarters of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, was broken into. The financial information, supply chain management and human resources files were stolen during this break-in.

Beukman says the acting head of the Hawks, Yolisa Matakata, will be called before the committee on August 4 for a full briefing and report back on the burglary.

He said it was “a huge concern for the portfolio committee” as the Hawks were tasked with investigating serious and organised crime. “There should be extraordinary measures in place to ensure that there can’t be break-ins or any attempts to obtain information illegally.”

He wanted assurance that the Hawks offices’ were properly secured to ensure there would be no more break-ins.