Calls for police to intensify fight against GBV
Police Minister, General Bheki Cele released the crime statistics for the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial last week.
The grim picture painted by the latest crime statistics which indicated that rape and murder cases have soared by 9.9% and 6.5%, respectively in KwaZulu-Natal, compared to the previous financial year has left the KZN Provincial Executive Council concerned.
KwaZulu-Natal, Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said following the recent release of the national crime statistics which indicate a spike in rape and murder cases in some parts of the province, the provincial government called on the police to intensify their crime fighting efforts in all identified hotspots in order to stem the tide of violent crimes in KZN.
Police Minister, General Bheki Cele released the crime statistics for the second quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year last week.
Premier Dube-Ncube said it is very disturbing that many women are raped or murdered by people they know and trust.
She said that with the province receiving a deployment of over 2000 additional police officers during the festive season will result in improved police visibility and crime intelligence gathering using modern technology to effectively thwart criminal syndicates.
Dube-Ncube said she has since directed the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster led by KZN Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Sipho Hlomuka, to present an urgent turnaround plan that will proactively deal with the identified problem areas with a view to implementing immediate solutions.
“We will not allow criminals to turn parts of our province into a murder and rape capital of South Africa. Ensuring an organised approach to crime prevention through stronger collaboration between police, crime fighting structures and civil society must form part of the province’s intervention turnaround plan in order to put an end to the rising crime scourge in our province. The fact that contact crimes including heinous acts of murder, sexual offences and rape have increased means that we have to intensify our efforts to rid our society of all forms of criminality. It cannot be business as usual when our province is leading in various crime categories,” said Dube-Ncube
She added that she has welcomed the decrease in sexual assault crimes by 8.2 %, saying that more work needs to be done.
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