Police Minister Senzo Mchunu says addressing the scourge of crime in the Eastern and Western Cape province will be part of the key priorities his department will keep a close eye on. Mchunu concluded his two-day ministerial stakeholder engagements in Gqeberha which kicked off in the Western Cape on Saturday.
Under resourced police stations and lack of police visibility topped the agenda in the Eastern Cape – a community frustrated with the scourge of crime and high rate in murder. Extortion and Gender-Based Violence are the leading crimes in Motherwell.
The Nelson Mandela Bay, Buffalo City and Mthatha were highlighted as some of the epicenters of crime in the province.
“So, our approach is very clear and that is to fight the scourge of crime in society. We cannot have our communities living in danger. So, with this stakeholder engagement, it gave us an idea on the focus areas we need to commit our resources to, because we see that in this area the issue of hijacking, kidnapping and murder by gun violence is very high. So, those are some of the interventions we must undertake to deal with this issue,” says Mchunu.
The police ministry says additional resources will be allocated to the province including over 300 men and women in blue, next month.
“We will be sending reinforcements to the province because this has been necessitated by the numbers we are seeing. So, we will deploy more boots on the ground to fight crime, but at this stage, we will not disclose where and how they will be deployed in the province. But we can assure you that these additional resources are coming to the province,” says National Police Commissioner Lt. Gen Fannie Masemola.
The community is calling for stringent and visible police enforcement and resources in communities in efforts to address the high crime rate.
“There is a nothing that the minister that can give us or tell us today, because he has nothing and he briefed those that where there, but the main people are the ones that are outside here that are not part of that,” says resident, Mandisa Norman.
“We are facing a spike in crime along our beachfront and especially, at a time where we have our students from the university back. The Humewood Police Station is overwhelmed with cases and the CPF of Humewood only has one vehicle and it does not operate at night. We need it the most. So, we want to urge the minister to do more for us,” says Beachfront Safety Chairman, Sean Tappaman.
During the 2023/2024 financial year, the police ministry has also allocated R70 million towards Community Police Forums nationally to ensure the proper functioning of these structures to combat crime.
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