Crime Stats 2016 – Provincial SAPS’ Actions on Crime Stats Welcomed

Statement by Dan Plato, Western Cape Minister of Community Safety

I welcome the response by Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula, to the crime statistics released on Friday

His announcement of an additional 1140 officers for the Western Cape is a genuine attempt to improve policing service delivery. It further builds on the steps already taken by Provincial Commissioner Jula since his appointment in January 2016.

The Western Cape has been severely impacted by limited policing resources. The deployment of additional officers cannot come a moment too soon. Indeed it is only the first step to addressing some very disturbing trends in the crime statistics.

Many communities are suffering under a vicious cycle of gangsterism, drugs and guns. This is evident in statistics showing that 36.3% of all drug crime occurs in the Western Cape. We also have the country’s highest rate of Illegal Possession of Firearms and ammunition, and 7 of the top 10 stations for murder are in the Western Cape.

As part of our oversight mandate over policing in the province, I have today written to Lt Gen Jula to request a briefing on SAPS strategies to deal with these trends evident in the latest crime statistics.

This includes details about:

• The 30 priority areas identified by SAPS

• Deployment details of the additional 1140 SAPS officers;

• Planned operations combatting gangsterism, drugs and guns in the province

All agencies must support one another for targeted interventions and strategic partnerships to succeed.

A timeous briefing by Lt Gen Jula, will enable the Department of Community Safety and other roleplayers to align our efforts with this plan.

The Western Cape Government believes that safety is everyone’s responsibility. Only a whole-of-society approach to crime will be able to reduce crime and make our communities safer.