The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety is chuffed with progress made in reduction and increase detection in some serious crime incidents that have for over time been a cause for concern in the Province.
This comes after the Provincial Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela presented the Province’s crime statistics for the fourth quarter of the 2022/23 FY which is a period between January to March 2023 before the Portfolio Committee on Wednesday, 14 June 2023.
Though the overall crime statistics have increased by 2%, which translate to an increase of about 2 129 incidents as compared to the same period in the previous year, there has been a slight decrease in crime incidents such as Sexual offences, assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm as well as robbery with aggravating circumstances.
These are serious crimes that continue to terrorize our communities particularly women and children and include crimes such as rape, sexual assault, robbery at non-residential carjacking, burglary at residential premises as well as theft of motor vehicle amongst others.
The decrease in the number of crimes of this nature gives the Portfolio Committee hope that some of the Province’s crime combating strategies are beginning to bear positive fruits which is a positive sign in the right direction.
Though the Portfolio Committee welcomes the reduction in these crimes, it is of the view that more needs to be done to ensure that the overall crime rate in Gauteng is significantly reduced to ensure that the residents of the Province are and feel safe at all times.
The Portfolio Committee is further concerned that Gauteng remains one of the highest contributors to the national overall crime statistics, contributing 27.2% of crimes in the country. This can obviously be attributed to the large population size of the Province as compared to other Provinces. However, with the right strategies that focuses on crime prevention, adequate resources as well as the commitment and positive attitudes of Law Enforcement Officers more can be done to achieve a safer and secure Gauteng.
The portfolio committee also raised a concern on the delays in establishing of the provincial integrated command center which will play a significant role of coordinating all the law enforcement agencies on the ground. It then called for the establishment of this center as a matter of urgency.
The Portfolio Committee noted the rise of a worrying trend of crimes committed using technology were people are being robbed through online shopping scams and e-hailing services. The Portfolio Committee urges members of the public to vigilant when utilizing these services to avoid falling victims of these scams.
The Portfolio Committee remains dedicated in providing support to Law Enforcement Officers in the Province to ensure that they fulfill their role of preventing , combating and investigating crime to maintain public order, to protect and secure the citizens of Gauteng.
In the coming week, the Portfolio Committee will convene a meeting with Metro Police from different Municipalities to allow them to present their plans on fulfilling their Constitutional mandate and ensure that their plans are well aligned to support other Law Enforcement Agencies in the Province.
A similar meeting will be held with Private Security Companies in an effort to ensure that there is close cooperation between the private sector and Law Enforcement Agencies operated by the State.
Lastly the Portfolio Committee expressed its condolences to the SAPS, family and friends of the police officers who were cowardly killed in recent months.