The National Crime Prevention Strategy requires a review to address new challenges that confront the criminal justice system such as premeditated violence that at times accompanies lawful protests.

This was announced by the Justice‚ Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) Cluster in Pretoria on Sunday.

The strategy‚ adopted in 1996‚ focused on a number of priority crimes. These are crimes involving firearms‚ organised crime‚ white collar crime‚ gender violence and crimes against women‚ violence associated with inter-group conflict and corruption.

“While lawful protests are provided for in the country’s legislative framework‚ of national concern are cases of premeditated violence that at times accompanies protests.

“The incidents of the Marikana tragedy‚ the violence and torching of schools that erupted in Vuwani and the damage to institutions of higher learning‚ have overstretched the criminal justice system and we have to plan better for these‚” Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said in a briefing by the ministers of the JCPS cluster.

Mapisa-Nqakula said according to statistical data‚ overall crime in South Africa had decreased between 2015 and 2016‚ with 2.1 million crimes reported in the 12 months measured.

Mapisa-Nqakula said the cluster remained resolute about removing criminals from society and the realisation of a country where all citizens were and felt safe.

She said the cluster continued to implement various crime-fighting operations across the country to ensure communities were and felt safe.

These included school safety programmes to ensure that conditions at schools were safe and conducive for teaching and learning to take place.