Police Minister, General Bheki Cele, says the South African Police Service (SAPS) remains unapologetic in its decisive stance on fighting crime and criminality in the country.
Addressing a media briefing on the successes of Operation Shanela in Pretoria this morning, Cele said Community Policing Forums, community patrollers as well as private security have been very active in their support and are playing a crucial role in the overall success of the operation.
Operation Shanela was launched in May last year in an effort to deal with crime in high-density areas.
To date 600 000 criminals, including wanted criminals, have been arrested. Over 71 000 operations have been conducted throughout the country.
Police have confiscated a number of illegal firearms, drugs, stolen vehicles and visited unlicensed establishments, among other things. Also as part of these operations, thousands of motorists have been nabbed for driving under the influence, theft out of motor vehicles, human trafficking and other crimes.
“Operation Shanela has and continues to be rolled out across the country, led by the Provincial Commissioners of each province,” Cele said.
Operations are intensified from Thursday up until the early hours of Monday. This is guided by crime pattern analysis which informed the police that most crimes are reported during these times.
“Each week we come together on a Monday morning to scan the country, discuss in depth the weekly crime picture and operational interventions on policable crimes,” he said.
He said, however, that while the SAPS remains at the forefront of Operation Shanela, the successes are as a result of collaborative efforts through integrated operations.
The police continue to collaborate and appreciate the role played by the SANDF, the National and Provincial Traffic Police and the Metro Police Departments, Municipal Traffic, the Department of Home Affairs, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and other government departments.
“The role of active citizen participation in the prevention and combating crime continues to gain momentum,” Cele.
The Minister said the police will remain intentional in their approach to fight crime
Also present at the media briefing were crime analysts who each day provide commentary to South Africans and the world on the police's ability to fulfill its constitutional mandate of preventing, investigating and combating crime.
The Provincial Police Commissioners also attended and said that through Operation Shanela, crime in their provinces has drastically reduced.
Although they all facing different challenges in their provinces, the Commissioners said they are working hard to get rid of criminal elements in their provinces. – SAnews.gov.za
