Kathorus SAPS applauds communities
Capt. Ndobe gave out the following police numbers which he said members of the public, especially women, should keep handy in case of an emergency.
The Kathorus SAPS Cluster has applauded members of the community for their involvement in combating crime in the townships over the festive season.
The cluster’s media spokesperson Captain Mega Ndobe, however, refused to be drawn into providing details of crime statistics for the Kathorus area over the festive season. He also said the great number of domestic crimes during the festive season overwhelmed the police’s efforts to combat serious crime on the ground.
“That was our biggest headache in which we saw the bulk of our public crime policing efforts and manpower being redirected in the area of domestic and family violence instead of being totally focused on the more serious crimes throughout the entire area of Kathorus during the festive season”, explained Capt. Ndobe, during a post-festive holiday crime-briefing session at the Ramokonopi Police Precinct, on January 5.
Ndobe explained that the bulk of crimes handled by the SAPS during the festive season were assault cases, which were mostly related to domestic violence and spousal abuse. He added that the main cause of many of these domestic flare-ups was alcohol.
In most cases, said Capt. Ndobe, the victims of these violent family assaults and abuse cases were women, most of whom were found to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the abuse, assault or even rape. This led to a large percentage of the victims being unable to identify their alleged male assailants.
“It makes it extremely difficult for us as the police to follow up with investigations in a case where the victim cannot identify the assailant because she or both of them were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the alleged crime being committed”, said Captain Ndobe, as he tried to add humour to what he described as a “seriously frustrating” situation faced by the police when dealing with alcohol-related cases involving women.
While most of the victims in the domestic violence cases reported to the police over the festive season were women, Captain Ndobe told Kathorus MAIL that a high percentage of females were in fact themselves found to be excessively violent when meting out revenge against their husbands.
Meanwhile, Capt. Ndobe explained that “provocation” by women in domestic violence cases often results in spousal murder, with women being the likely victims. “In some cases the ‘provoked’ male partner ends up wiping out the entire family before killing himself,” he said.
Ndobe also cited “jealousy” between couples as a crucial factor during spousal domestic violence confrontations. He advised couples and partners to seek advice from family, priests, elders or relatives and even professionals such as social workers when faced with domestic problems.
“Revenge” said Capt. Ndobe, “should be the last thing on your mind when you are confronted with a violent family or spousal domestic situation. Walk away rather than acting like a ‘hero’ and taking the matter in your own hands”, he said, warning that warring couples or partners should instead report any domestic violence to the police.
Capt. Ndobe gave out the following police numbers which he said members of the public, especially women, should keep handy in case of an emergency.
112 SAPS Emergency
10111 SAPS Emergency
322211 SAPS SMS Crime Line
