Cops’ festive season operations yield 1000s of arrests, recovery of explosives, weapons

The South African Police Service’s (SAPS) Safer Festive Season Operations have given the National Police Commissioner plenty of reasons to greet the new year with a smile, after yielding several successes.

In a statement on the SAPS website, General Fannie Masemola expressed his satisfaction with the progress made by the operations, which have as their main focus areas preventing and enhancing police actions towards Gender Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), preventing and combating aggravated armed robberies, enhancing border security, enforcing legislation and bylaws as well as road safety.

SAPS list their achievements since 1 December, with the following standing out:

• 2940 illegal, undocumented persons were arrested
• 2729 suspects were arrested for drug-related crimes
• 1284 suspects arrested for dealing illegally in liquor
• 628 suspects were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol
• 305 suspects were arrested and charged for murder
• 527 suspects were arrested and charged for sexual offences, including rape
• 31 suspects involved in kidnapping cases were arrested
• 445 firearms were seized, including 7219 rounds of ammunition
• 244 stolen vehicles recovered
• 9 444 explosives were seized

At least a part of the success is attributed to the police deploying 10 000 newly trained officers just ahead of the festive season, and SAPS says they have been “heightening police visibility through integrated and joint law enforcement crime combatting operations including patrols, stop and searches, roadblocks and the tracing of wanted suspects.”

Also Read: 10 000 new police recruits joining a broken organisation, low on morale, resources

Masemola has promised that SAPS officers will continue to be on high alert throughout the New Year celebrations on Sunday and beyond.

“While police will be deployed to hotspot areas, members of the public are urged to be extra vigilant of their surroundings and report any suspicious activities to their nearest police station. We urge everyone to conduct themselves in an orderly and responsible manner as they usher in the New Year, most importantly remember not to drink and drive to prevent loss of life on our roads”.

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General Fannie Masemola.

Also Read: Police on high alert for lawlessness as South Africans usher in 2023