Following the release of the crime statistics for the second quarter of 2024, the MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Jackie Macie, launched the rapid response service, a highway patrol unit for operation in  Mpumalanga on Thursday, September 19.

This SAPS Rapid Response Service will assist in strengthening the deployment of highway patrol units, which will enhance police visibility and accessibility. Macie said the day marked an important milestone in their fight against crime and their quest to make Mpumalanga a much safer place than it is right now.

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“This launch exhibits practical steps by the government that are equipping our law enforcement agencies with the necessary capabilities to keep us all safe. We want to make sure that road traffic offenders do not find breathing space on our roads. We are going to suffocate them until they adhere to traffic laws. We cannot continue to lose lives as if we do not have strategies to curb that.”

Macie said he commends the provincial SAPS management for taking a bold step in establishing this crucial unit within the organisation to pay special focus on serious crimes occurring on the highways in the province.

“As you may know, there are more people moving and passing through the province with different driving behaviour than we have here. Our province is bounded by Limpopo, the Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, with Mozambique and the Kingdom of eSwatini being exit and entry points to the Southern African Development Community, using most of our major roads such as the N1, N2, N4, N11, N17, R40 and part of N3 alongside Balfour.”

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He said the best way to deal with all these difficulties is to use technology to catch all those who disobey the traffic laws and subject other road users to crashes and, at worse, death.

“While I welcome the rolling out of these vehicles, there is a great need to augment this fleet with the same features as the provincial and municipal traffic vehicles. It is a fulfilling moment to present to you six performing vehicles to be distributed equally to all three districts of our province. These vehicles are equipped with cutting-edge technology, including automatic number plate recognition and many other features of crimefighting technology,” Macie concluded.