As the festive season approaches, the South African Police Service is continuing to increase its resources in three high-crime areas to boost service delivery. Mobile community service centers have been established recently in those high-crime areas, such as Gauteng’s, Johannesburg South, the Western Cape’s Cape Flats, and the Vhembe district in Limpopo.
Dozens of additional police patrol vans and high-powered vehicles were added to the current vehicle fleet to better serve the residents of Johannesburg South and adjacent regions during a Ministerial Crime Prevention Imbizo. This comes as the Western Cape SAPS began its Safer Festive Season campaign in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Flats, on 15 November.
These special operations which have been rolled out are under the theme: More boots on the ground towards enhanced police visibility. Policing in the Cape flats and other places where violent crimes such as murder, assault, robbery, and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) are prevalent has been given a new lease of life.
Additional patrol vehicles have been deployed to policing areas in and around the Cape flats of Cape Town. The resource injection comes at a time when the SAPS’s state wide Safer Festive Season initiatives are ushering in a season of increased police visibility.
The Police ministry remains steadfast in prioritising and bringing police services closer to communities. Police Minister Bheki Cele, emphasized that if police are to combat crime, they must function at full capacity.
“This display of force should serve as a warning shot to criminals but also demonstrate the commitment by this Ministry and SAPS management to support to improve police service delivery. We want this in all provinces as it will allow police to continue to respond to all opportunistic criminal elements, not only this festive season but beyond,” he said.
Minister Cele has warned against the misuse of much needed policing resources. “These brand-new vehicles and mobile stations should not be abused and only be used for their intended purpose, which is ensuring South Africans and all those who are within our borders always have access to a police officer at all times,” he said.
Police Ministry Spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba urged community members to report any misuse of police resources. “We also encourage residents to continue to work closely with police, to better fight crime. The SAPS countrywide Safer Festive Season campaign is expected to wrap up at the end of January 2024,” she said.
