Crime Stats 2015: R50 000 reward to get cop killers behind bars

Statement by Dan Plato, Western Cape Minister of Community Safety

The Western Cape Government through its Department of Community Safety is making R50 000 available to anyone who can assist with information that will result in the arrest and the successful conviction of those involved in the killing of police officers in the Western Cape.

Let this reward be a stern warning for anyone considering to take lethal action against the brave men and women who serve our communities – there are now an extra 50 000 reasons why you will not get away with it.

Last year allow a total of 21 police officers were murdered and 645 incidents of attacks on police occurred provincially. This is the highest count of police officers attacked and murdered in the country last year.

In the last three years (2012/13 – 2014/15), 1 285 incidents of attack on police officers occurred in the province and a total of 50 officers have lost their lives.

These statistics are horrendous; the situation is abnormal and cannot be accepted, given residents’ high regard for those brave men and women in blue who work tirelessly to protect and serve the rest of us.

That is why I  call on you, the people of this province, to change this.

Only a select few in our society are responsible for these crimes. We understand that no amount of money can make up for the loss of a life, and no amount of money will provide comfort to the family, friends and colleagues of our safety personnel killed this year.

It remains my hope however, that by offering this substantive reward someone, somewhere, will come forward and help the police catch the cowardly criminals responsible for these terrible crimes.

The reward will apply to accurate information provided on any violent attack which resulted in the death of any South African Police Service (SAPS) officers, as well as the Western Cape Traffic Services.

The Department of Community Safety in the Western Cape shall make available R50 000 to any person or persons for information that will result in the arrest and the successful prosecution of anyone involved in the killing of police officers in the Western Cape. The payment of any such reward will be at the discretion of the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Any information should be reported to the SAPS Crime Stop number on 0861 10111.

Though the Western Cape Government has no operational control over the police, we will always support the law enforcement services in line with our strategic objective of building a professional police service, able to fulfil their Constitutional obligations and by so doing ensuring a better quality of policing and better safety service delivery in the province.

We will not allow cowardly criminals to get away with their crimes unpunished. We will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of both the people of the Western Cape and our police officers.