Pretoria - Crime fighting initiatives in the country's rural areas have been given a major boost, with police getting more than 1 000 vehicles to carry out their duties.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said these vehicles ranged from high powered 4X4s to high-tech equipped vans and sedans.
Up until last week, the SA Police Service had added 1 385 new vehicles - earmarked for rural areas - to their existing fleet for the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 financial years.
Mthethwa stressed that these rural areas did only refer to farms but included broad demographic areas across the country, ranging from remote areas without proper road infrastructure, to some of the worst economically affected areas in the country.
"Where they were needed, appropriate vehicles suitable for the terrain were allocated to rural areas and in cases where it was necessary, new suitable vehicles have been purchased and ordered," he added.
Mthethwa said the police were beginning to deploy resources evenly and effectively and this was part of a new way of doing things, innovatively and speedily.
