Minister for Police Bheki Cele and supporting officials recently published the third quarter crime stats for the 2023/24 financial year at the GCIS headquarters in Tshwane.

The stats indicated crimes reported by victims at all 1163 police stations nationwide.

Pretoria Central, Akasia, and Brooklyn police stations were among the top 30 stations plagued by serious crime.

Cele said that the festive season was challenging due to the influx of holidaymakers and criminal opportunists targeting them.

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“This is why we have, through our safer festive season operational plan, ensured that, through the deployment of critical resources and manpower, our police officers were adequately resourced to deal decisively with criminals in all forms and shapes,” Cele said.

“I must say, we came into this festive period well-prepared. We unleashed our safer festive operational plan on the 13th of October 2023, where we deployed various policing interventions and strategies and gave strict instructions and a clear directive to our members on the ground to squeeze out all criminals in every corner of this country,” Cele added.

The Police Minister says that since its inception in May 2023, Operation Shanela has arrested over 442 000 suspects and this has dented violent and organised crime operations.

Some significant arrests from the festive season include:
– 32 229 suspects were arrested for common assault and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm
– 4 882 suspects were arrested for murder and attempted murder
– 4 783 suspects were arrested for sexual offences related crimes such as rape and attempted rape
– 6 383 motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs
– 3 747 suspects were arrested for drug dealing
– 16 942 suspects were arrested for drug possession
– 2581 suspects were arrested for possessing illegal and prohibited firearms and ammunition

Drug busts

Police recorded four major drug busts during this period. Three were at the Durban Harbour where cocaine to the value of R300 million was seized in separate incidents.

The most recent drug bust during this period was for cocaine to the value of R151 million on December 4, 2023.

The fourth drug bust was at the Gqerberha Sea Port where cocaine worth R65 million was seized.

“In this period, R800 million worth of drugs were destroyed in Gauteng. These were drugs collected during policing operations across the country,” Cele said.

15 drug laboratories were shut down and 21 suspects were arrested for drug-related charges including manufacturing and dealing in drugs.

“Indeed, our intelligence structures are hard at work in preventing and putting a stop to the drug trade in the country and beyond. This is also a clear demonstration that all stakeholders involved in border security management are working together to tighten the control measures of cargo entering and departing our country,” Cele said.

Murder
During this period, a total of 7,710 people were murdered. This is an increase compared to the two previous quarters.

Murders increased by 2.1%, meaning that 155 more people were murdered.

“The provinces of KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Free State must be singled out and commended for being able to register a reduction in the number of people murdered during this period,” Cele said.

“While they may not be out of the woods yet, it is important to highlight that attention and more resources have been allocated to stations that have the highest number of murders reported. The majority of the top 30 stations where murder was most reported include the Western Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng, and Eastern Cape,” Cele continued.

The top 5 stations where murders were reported are Inanda in KZN and Mfuleni, Gugulethu, Nyanga, and Khayelitsha in the Western Cape.
Arguments, misunderstandings, and provocation remain the top causal factors that led to 1,116 murders.

The police reported 268 gang-related murders and 250 of these were reported in the Western Cape.
431 murders were linked to vigilantism and mob justice attacks. Gauteng registered the highest of these with 84 murders, followed by the Eastern Cape with 80 and KwaZulu-Natal with 78.

During the same period, courts handed down 56 life sentences to 42 murderers.

83 murderers received 20-plus years imprisonment sentences.

282 murderers were handed down 10-19 years for a collective 287 years imprisonment.

215 murderers received 5-9 years imprisonment for a collective 216 years imprisonment.

Sexual offences

The police recorded a national decrease of 1.7% regarding sexual-related offences and Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF).

Rape declined by 1,7 % in six provinces including Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Northern Cape and Western Cape.

Police conducted over 2400 raids which resulted in over 4264 suspects being arrested for GBVF-related crimes such as rape and sexual assault.

“What is encouraging is that more awareness programs are being conducted by our social crime prevention and Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Units (FCS), which translates to an increase in the reporting of these crimes,” Cele said.

112 life sentences were handed down to 89 rapists and GBVF perpetrators.

64 rapists and GBVF perpetrators were each handed down 20 years and above sentences.

172 rapists and GBVF perpetrators were handed 10-19 years sentences.

261 rapists and GBVF perpetrators were handed down 1-9 years sentences.

“What is most encouraging is that Inanda – which has always been known as the rape capital of the country – has also seen a slight reduction in the number of rape cases, by registering twenty counts lower than in the same period under review. This goes to show that our FCS teams are acting decisively against those who are perpetrating rape crimes,” Cele added.

Cele stated that the majority of these rapes were committed at victims’ residences and the perpetrators were either neighbours, friends, or family members.

The police minister referred to Limpopo police apprehending a serial rapist, Manyike Monyuku, earlier this week. He has been linked to twelve rape cases.

DNA backlog
The DNA backlog is currently standing at zero from 251,000 in the 2021/2022 financial year. The expansion of the DNA lab in Gqerberha, which was opened by the President in August 2023, is said to have contributed immensely to the processing of more DNA samples across the country.

“All these efforts have contributed positively to the SAPS fight against gender-based violence and femicide cases. For example, the NPA and SAPS project has led to more than 40,000 DNA forensic reports being finalised to ensure that cases of GBVF are prioritized,” Cele said.

Cash In Transit Heists (CIT) and armed robberies

46 CIT armed robberies took place, which is 11 counts lower than the previous crime reporting period.

More than 75 wanted CIT suspects have been arrested during takedown operations in the past year.

High-calibre firearms including rifles and AK47s as well as high-performance vehicles that were used in the commission of these crimes were seized.

Property-related crime

Property-related crimes decreased by 2.9%

Burglary at non-residential premises saw a drop of 5,9 % while burglaries at residential premises dropped by 4,4%.

Stock theft, which includes the theft of livestock, also registered a drop in the number of cases reported.

“Through our Rural Safety Strategy, which is being implemented to address stock theft and crime in the rural and farming areas, we were able to reduce the number of stock theft incidents by 2.1%. We do believe that by working collectively with the farming community and farm watchers, we will register a drop in more reported cases,” Cele said.

Crimes detected as a result of police action

Crimes detected as a result of police action all registered a positive increase of 10.8%. These crimes include the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, drug-related crimes, as well as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs as well as sexual offences, and other crimes.

These are crimes that are usually not reported to the police but are detected as a result of the deployment of law enforcement personnel and the employment of intelligence.

The statistics reveal that contact crimes which are commonly known as the 17-community reported crimes which include murder, rape, assault, and shoplifting increased by 1,5 %.

Police killings

22 police officers were killed during this period. 10 were killed on duty while 12 were killed off-duty.

12 police killers were tracked down and arrested during this period.

Two police killers were convicted and sentenced to four life-term imprisonment sentences.

“Criminals are warned that they will face the full might of the law and be held accountable for all the consequences flowing from the killing of police officials. We will not hesitate to ensure that those who harbour police killers or are in any way involved in criminal activity related to police killings will face the same consequences as the criminal who actually pulled the trigger. This principle applies to all those who assist criminals in committing crimes or evading the law afterwards,” Cele said.

Mass shootings

Six mass shooting incidents were reported and a seventh incident was a mob justice attack in Diepsloot.

Five men were shot and killed in the Inanda shooting and three suspects were arrested and have already appeared in court for murder. Their next court appearance is on February 28.

“In the mob justice attack where five men were burnt to death in December 2023, five suspects were arrested and charged with the murders. They have already made several court appearances and their case was remanded to the 07th of March 2024. All five accused remain in custody,” Cele said.

ALSO READ: Crime stats: fewer Tshwane stations in top-30 serious crime hotspots

Construction Mafia

From April, more than 61 suspects linked to these extortion cases were arrested.

Since 2019, 27 accused have been convicted, and given sentences of a collective 43 years of direct imprisonment.

In a recent incident, 12 suspects were arrested during a takedown operation in Toekomsrus in Randfontein.

A group calling themselves Toekomsrus Business Forum attempted to disrupt a R320 million housing project demanding a 30% stake in the project. The police response led to the arrest of these twelve suspects, with two firearms confiscated.

The Western Cape province has also made progress in dismantling the 30% construction mafia grouping where projects were delayed as a result of acts of criminality. Amongst the many arrested include the kingpins which include Ralph Stanfield and his wife Nicole Johnson and three others.

“Nafiz Modack, who is the leader of the ‘Terrible Westsiders’ gang, and 17 others are in custody for gang-related activities and the murder of the late Lieutenant Colonel Kinnear, as well as the attempted murder of a local attorney, William Booth, and the father of a Hawks investigator,” Cele said.

“These suspects are currently appearing in court on various charges linked to 18 cases such as murder, corruption, intimidation, extortion, and fraud. Three have already been found guilty. Yanga Nyalara, commonly known as ‘Bara’, is also in custody. He was arrested in July 2023 with five others for extortion-related mass murders involving 24 bodies that were found in the greater Khayelitsha Precinct. Lungi Arnold Madolo, also known as ‘Fire’, was involved in the killing of the Deputy Chairperson of the Community Police Forum (CPF) in Gugulethu. Ms Guffy was traced and arrested in Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. Bonke Makalala, who is a leader in SANTACO Western Cape, is also in custody. He was arrested in December 2023 for taxi violence-related activities,” Cele continued.

Kidnappings

More than 300 suspects linked to kidnappings have been arrested in the last two years, and police say ransom kidnappings have increased and their detective teams have ramped up their efforts to identify and arrest the organisations behind them.

Illicit Mining

Seven illegal mining hotspots in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Northern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Free State, and North West have been subjected to Operation Vala Umgodi.

This operation is in collaboration with the South African National Defence Force and the Department of Minerals Resources and Energy (DMRE).

1258 illegal miners have been arrested during this period. 94 illegal firearms including 25 rifles and 69 handguns were recovered as well as 103 stolen and hijacked vehicles.

CPF

R70 million has been allocated to the CPFs to ensure the proper functioning of these structures.

Cele says the move demonstrates SAPS’s commitment to ensuring quality community policing relations.

“It is quite encouraging that 94 % of the CPF budget has been spent on resources such as vehicles to ensure maximum cooperation and interaction with the community,” Cele concluded.

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