As a politician, what am I suggesting that we do? First, I hope we will provoke a serious and responsible debate on this issue but I am also saying we, as a society, should no longer be willing to stand by, that we want to take something forward. I want to make a proposal and throw a thought out into the debate. I would like to float the concept of an unpaid voluntary reserve police force. There is nothing new in this initiative. It is not radical, risky or even revolutionary. It has been around for a long time. Our nearest neighbours, the United Kingdom, have 15,000 reserve policemen and women. The special constable is the United Kingdom's reserve law officer. The name dates back more than 700 years to the time before paid policemen, when the preservation of the peace was an unpaid common law duty. In South Africa the reserve unit has been operational since 1998 and consists of a dedicated group of unpaid volunteers who have been selected for their language, law enforcement and paramedical skills.