Minister Cele’s failure to support Gauteng SAPS has led to these alarming crime stats

The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele and the MEC of Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko must account for neglecting Gauteng police stations which have severely affected the gruesomely alarming Gauteng crime stats.

Gauteng is the largest crime contributor with 27.4% of the national crime stats that was released last week.

Gauteng police stations are barely functional because of a lack of adequate resources and infrastructure challenges. The working conditions that our police officers are exposed to on a daily basis are terrible and they affect the delivery of police services.

The above has yet again been reflected in the Gauteng crime stats for the first quarter of the 2022/23 financial year which were released today.

Kidnapping has increased by 136% which means that over 21 children are kidnapped in the province per day.

The report has also revealed that at least 33 people are murdered or are the victims of attempted murder per day over 90 days.

Below are the increased crimes in the province:

Kidnapping 136% increase 1909 reported cases
Murder 24.5% increase 1490 reported cases
Attempted murder 22.3% increase 1434 reported cases
Carjackings 15.1% increase 3113 reported cases
Theft 6.2% increase 17870 reported cases

 

Moreover, women remain the most vulnerable to contact crimes such as rape and murder with a total of 12 884 crimes and a 52% and 100% increase respectively.

Gauteng police stations in the top 40 with the highest increases for serious crimes include Jeppe 18.4%, Tsakane 16.5%, Krugersdorp 15.3%, Pretoria West 13%, Florida 9.7%, Lyttleton 9.5%, Kempton Park 10.1%, Mamelodi East 8.6%.

The DA has on numerous occasions insisted for the SAPS vacancies to be filled and to date, the vacancy rate remains high.

Our police stations cannot successfully curb crime without sufficient support and resources. In Gauteng, 143 police stations need to service more than 15 million people. Every year, the budget goes up, the number of police officer’s declines while the population increases and more so does crime.

Crime rises, and some police stations are closed, instead of new stations being opened.

Unlike Minister Bheki Cele, the DA in Gauteng launched its #GautengPoliceWatch campaign in July, and so far, we have seen the horrible state of our police stations.

Cele cannot be expected to curb crime while he enjoys a fancy parliamentary office. Solutions to curb crime can only be found on the ground by engaging with the communities and police officials.

Minister Cele and MEC Mazibuko have failed the residents of Gauteng, and they must vacate office and give leaders who care for the safety of our people to serve them.