Gauteng MEC concerned over underperforming police stations including Ivory Park

The Gauteng MEC for community safety Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane expressed concern about the underperforming police stations in Gauteng on 26 September.

Nkosi-Malobane held a routine performance review meeting with the provincial law enforcement to discuss quarterly performance at the Avianto Conference Centre in Muldersdrift.

She raised concerns about the province’s high murder rate which had increased by 3,2 per cent in eight underperforming stations in Gauteng which included Dobsonville, Akasia, Krugersdorp, Honeydew, Kagiso, Kempton Park, Ivory Park and Tembisa.

She also expressed a concern about the number of cash-in-transit heists as well as police visibility which she believes contributes to the high levels of crime.

The province recorded 132 more murders in the last 2017/18 financial year compared to the previous year. From murders recorded in the last financial year, 2 330 suspects were arrested from 1 543 cases, with successful convictions in 726 cases.

Furthermore, 88 cases of cash-in-transit robberies were recorded in the past financial year compared to 33 cases reported in the previous 2016/17 financial year.

Nkosi-Malobane said, “I had a fruitful engagement with the leadership of the law enforcement agencies in the province. While I acknowledge that the crime levels are still unacceptably very high in the province, I am delighted that Gauteng has recorded some improvement in the number of under-performing police stations from thirteen to eight police stations.

“It is encouraging to note that a significant amount of work is being done in this regard. We continue to monitor and assess the performance of the 40 priority police stations in the province with a specific focus on the deployment of resources relating to personnel and vehicles in the identified crime hotspots.”

She also commended the work done by the law enforcement coordinating structure, Gauteng Law Enforcement Agencies Forum (GLEAF), particularly the number of successes as a result of Operation Buya Mthetho conducted in the previous quarter. “Furthermore, we have agreed as the law enforcement agencies in the province that particular focus needs to be on addressing weaknesses in by-law enforcement in the City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. I have made an observation that Metro Police Departments use by-law enforcement operations as a revenue collection method instead of using them as pro-active crime prevention measures.”

Details: www.gauteng.gov.za

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