With crime already being such a huge problem in South Africa, it seems that we now face a different kind of crime from those who are supposed to protect us as citizens. This crime, committed by the police, is called police brutality.

However, police brutality is nothing new. It has existed for centuries in all countries. It has only recently become a pressing concern because of the stricter laws in place to control it and a greater focus by both politicians and, more particularly, the Human Rights Commission.

Following the many cases of police brutality that have been reported in the news lately, the Democratic Alliance handed over legislative proposals to the speaker of Parliament, through which they hope to give the public more power against police brutality.

The DA's shadow minister of police Dianne Kohler Barnard feels that the Private Members Bill must put greater onus on the SAPS to act on recommendations from its watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD).

"If the SAPS deem those recommendations to be unreasonable the onus falls on it to explain in writing why they have failed to act," Kohler Barnard says.

"The provisions require that if the explanation be public and transparent, it will hopefully help to put greater pressure on the police to take action and be accountable."

According to Barnard, 42 percent of all recommendations made to the ICD ? which was established to investigate complaints of misconduct against the police ? were not acted upon. The ICD claims that the number of complaints against police brutality has increased by almost 400 in the past year.

We spoke to the chairman of the Human Rights Commission, Jody Kollapen, to find out what, exactly, the HRC feels needs to be done about the problem.

According to Kollapen, our Constitution states very clearly how the police should handle arrests, bail, detention and the powers that they have to shoot and kill in certain cases.

The problem, he claims, is when the police make comments like "we have to be brutal" and "shoot now and ask later" in order to fight crime.

"The constitution asks for policing to be done in a certain way, and brutality should not be a part of that," Kollapen says.

The HRC feels that the police can use reasonable force where necessary, but should not do anything unreasonable. Falling under Kollapen's definition of 'unreasonable' are actions such as kicking or slapping a suspect when that person poses no threat to the police at the time of the arrest.

Kollapen says that he understands fully that the ICD cannot always believe every complaint they get, but that they must also not reject all the complaints that they're getting.

With such a significant increase in the number of reported cases of police brutality, it seems pertinent to ask the question: what causes police brutality? Is it stress-related; is it race-related; or is it simply a misuse of power? Surely we are supposed to feel safe in the presence of police, instead of fearing them?

In response to a question about whether crime or police brutality is of greater concern in a country such as South Africa, Kollapen admitted that crime is the bigger concern, but stressed that citizens should also feel safe and should be able to trust the police.

In a country with a crime rate as high as ours, it is easy to understand why complaints on police brutality don't really get the attention they deserve. Balancing the needs of the police in combating crime with the public's need for protection against brutality will be tricky but, with the number of complaints on the rise, something, surely, needs to be done.

If the ICD tightens its grip on its investigations and roots out those - perhaps isolated - incidences of brutality, the public is bound to become more confident in the system.

Police brutality can be combated in many ways, including political and legislative action, research, education, and providing services and support for victims of this crime.

And from the community's side, we can perhaps work together to create a climate in which police brutality is not tolerated.