Four provinces – Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape, and the Eastern Cape – currently bear 73% of crime levels in South Africa.
This is according to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu. He said the gravity of these crimes alone, including extortion, was of serious concern to the police.
Mchunu stated that the police are hard at work fighting extortion and other related crimes in parts of the country on a daily basis.
“The modus operandi of the perpetrators involved in these heinous acts is well-known,” according to Mchunu.
“Most of them are individuals who do not want to work but rather choose to parade as armies of murderous parasites that must be fought and rejected by society as a whole,” Mchunu said.
The minister was addressing parliament on Tuesday on measures taken by the police to deal with threats posed by extortion.
Communities are agitated
“Extortion has been emerging over time and has now reached levels where all communities in our country beyond the four provinces have become very angry, bitter and agitated.
“The pain has gone very deep,” he said.
Mchunu said the mood expressed in communities is also reflective of statements that have been made unanimously in parliament against these crimes.
He told MPs that the government must take urgent action to address the current socioeconomic conditions, which are conspiring against [the] crime levels.
Mchunu said the perpetrators of extortion are often heavily armed, operating in groups that instill fear and chaos.
“The relative ‘silence’ of communities and low reporting is all due to these fears. Police are hard at work fighting these crimes on a daily basis.
“[In] recent operations … suspects, identified through intelligence as extortionists, were confronted in Milnerton, Cape Town.
“Four suspects were fatally wounded in a shootout with police, while four were admitted to the hospital with wounds.
“In the Eastern Cape, operations are underway, and we are focussing on Mthatha and Nelson Mandela Bay on similar crimes, including illegal occupation of buildings and stock theft, among others.”
Soweto is being monitored
He continued: “Twelve cases have been reported on the hotline, and investigations are underway. We are observing signs of resistance among criminals, but police will prevail.
“We must also mention that we see shocking incidents of the lowest morality, where church services, funerals and other family-related functions get disrupted by these extortionists.”
Mchunu said in Gauteng, three criminals were arrested in Bronkhospruit recently for activities related to extortions.
“Soweto is also a place that has received our attention in the incidents of extortion. In Mpumalanga, three arrests were recently made in cases of extortion and fighting over turf for the same purpose.
“In the Free State, the target of extortionists includes pensioners and people who receive RAF [Road Accident Fund] payments.
“Generally, there is more extortion going on than meets the eye. This requires more crime intelligence operations.”
According to Mchunu, the government has initiated the signing of cooperative agreements with provincial and local government, with operational plans seeking to intergrade resources to fight against crime.
CPFs form part of the plan
“Currently, the operational plan is being rolled out in Cape Town with its new six sub-districts,” he said.
“The model will be replicated in all metros in the country. The operational plan will include CPFs [community policing forums] and private security companies.
“The Eastern Cape and Nelson Mandela Bay have agreed on the operational plan, and it is currently being rolled out, and we will be launching it soon.”
He said his ministry will be meeting the Gauteng government on Thursday on the same programme, and next will be KwaZulu-Natal later in September.
“We are also holding a series of meetings with sister departments on collaboration against crime, as per the national integrated crime prevention strategy.
“This Friday, we are meeting as the JCPS [justice, crime prevention and security] cluster to tighten up our act and better synergies.” – SAnews.gov.za
