In a bid to further strengthen the fight against crime in KwaZulu-Natal, the provincial government plans to recruit 1000 social crime prevention volunteers who will be deployed throughout the province.
KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, made the announcement when she was delivering the State of the Province Address (SOPA) in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday.
Highlighting some of the provincial government’s initiatives aimed at fighting crime in communities, Dube-Ncube said police capacity has over the past four years been augmented by new members with a total of over 4 000 new police officers received in the past two years.
Dube-Ncube also announced that the Department of Community Safety and Liaison will in the 2024/25 financial year establish a Community Safety Intervention Unit (CSIU) which will work with other law enforcement agencies as a force multiplier, proactively and reactively fighting crime in communities.
“The SAPS has also announced significant improvements in the allocation of resources with more vehicles and trainee Constables being made available in KwaZulu-Natal.
“The Department of Community Safety and Liaison has bought 60 safety patrol cars that will be used by the Community Safety Committees and Community Police Forums to complement the work of the police,” Dube-Ncube said.
Specialised team to tackle cross border crime
On cross border crime, Dube-Ncube said the province is pursuing diplomatic channels to ensure that South Africans’ properties that are illegally stuck in sister countries are returned to their rightful owners.
“In this regard, we met with the Mozambican High Commissioner to South Africa last year to discuss this matter. We have installed jersey barriers at exit points to make it difficult for stolen vehicles to cross into Mozambique,” Dube-Ncube said.
The provincial government is working closely with the SAPS’ Specialised KZN Stabilising Team to address issues of criminality in and around the Manguzi area.
She said the interventions have resulted in the arrest of several highly sought criminals, and who are currently facing justice.
“When we visited there late last year with Police Minister Bheki Cele this special team had arrested 103 suspects [and] four had been convicted. Fifty-six dockets were in court, 193 motor vehicles had been identified or which 63 had been handed back to the owners,” the Premier said, adding that 42 cases were also under investigation,” the Premier said. – SAnews.gov.za
