It is clear the country and Gauteng in particular are facing a dire crime situation. The crime picture here on the West Rand is also ugly, to say the least.
Kagiso and Randfontein are in the national top 30 police stations where the most contact crime incidents had been reported; while Kagiso, Randfontein and Krugersdorp are among the top 40 police stations in the province where high volumes of crime had been reported. This type of ‘achievement’ we don’t need. (See the crime stats for Kagiso, Krugersdorp, Westonaria and Randfontein far below.)
Also read: Gauteng crime stats spike: The reasons and plan going forward
On Tuesday, June 14 the latest crime statistics for the period from January to March 2022 were presented to the Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety at the IEC Hall in the municipal building in Randfontein.
While Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela presented the province’s crime statistics, the West Rand District Police Commissioner Major General Fred Kekana profiled the District, and gave the public a detailed analysis of, among other, infrastructure influencing policing, the total number of personnel serving the District, the policing landscape, the challenges and the contributing factors.
Police profiled the West Rand District as follows (information provided by SAPS):
Infrastructure influencing policing:
• Tertiary institutions: 16
• Schools: 592
• Hospitals: 16
• Clinics: 82
• Churches: 234
• On-consumption (taverns): 727
• Off-consumption (liquor outlets): 195
• Spaza shops: 913
• Taxi ranks: 108
• Hostels: 16
• Train stations: 19
• Dominant industries: 43
• General dealers: 270
• Auctioneers: 18
• Jewellers: 48
• Motor-vehicle dealers: 176
• Scrap-metal dealers: 108
Policing landscape (satellite stations and landscape):
• Zuurbekom: satellite station to reopen upon finalisation of the repairs and renovations to the building (approved)
• Munsieville: establishment of a fully fledged police station (approved)
• Kocksoord: re-establishment of the satellite station (approved)
• Mohlakeng: upgrading to a fully fledged police station (approved)
• Toekomsrus: proposal that shortage of vehicles at Randfontein SAPS be addressed for additional sector policing in Toekomsrus (approved)
• Glenharvie: graduation of satellite to a fully fledged police station (approved)
Workforce:
• Total operational personnel in the West Rand District: 1 428
• Visible policing: 1 166 members (establishment), 1 066 members (deployed) and vehicles 267
• Detective service: 468 members (establishment), 362 members (deployed) and vehicles 187
• Flying Squad/ highway patrols: 62 members (establishment), 57 members (deployed) and 25 vehicles
• DFO: 31 members (establishment), 31 members (deployed) and 13 vehicles
• Reservists: 42 members (establishment), 42 members (deployed)
• Public Safety Mogale City: 73 members and 43 vehicles
• Pubic Safety Rand West City: 73 members and 11 vehicles
• Public Safety Merafong City: 25 members and 16 vehicles
• POP: 33 members (establishment), 105 members deployed, and 12 armoured and 32 soft vehicles
• Forensics: 77 members (establishment), 67 members (deployed) and 14 vehicles
• CI: 64 members (establishment), 33 members (deployed) and 19 vehicles
• K9: 18 members (establishment), 17 members (deployed) and nine vehicles
• Provincial Traffic Mogale City region: 52 members and 17 vehicles
• Provincial Traffic Merafong City region: 45 members and seven vehicles
• Security companies: 53 companies in total with 2 112 members
• Community in blue: 98 members
• Department of Home Affairs Randfontein: Five immigration officers and two vehicles
• Department of Home Affairs Krugersdorp: Seven immigration officers and two vehicles
• Department of Home Affairs Carletonville: Four immigration officers and two vehicles
Challenges/ contributing factors:
1. The closing of mine shafts in the District has resulted in increased levels of unemployment. Some mine shafts are left unattended and are not rehabilitated.
2. There is an increase in developments within the District which include a mall, hospital and housing projects in Mohlakeng; the Montrose housing and Afro Village projects in Randfontein which are presently under construction; the Borwa housing project in Westonaria; and a new housing project named Elijah Barayi in Carletonville. People who live in the dolomitic area of Khutsong are being moved to this new housing project.
3. The District is experiencing an influx of foreign nationals and undocumented persons as the West Rand is a mining-dominated area.
4. The West Rand District Municipality (WRDM) and its three local municipalities are under financial constraints. Due to the financial situation, water and electricity supplies are being cut intermittently, leading to constant community protests.
Interventions:
Operations:
1. The provincial Operation Okae Molao is conducted within the District every Thursday and on Saturday nights. This crime-intelligence driven operation is rotated among the stations within the District
2. The District conducts regular integrated operations with other role players including the local traffic departments, Department of Home Affairs, Correctional Services, Department of Community Safety, mining houses, CPFs, community patrollers, Community in Blue, private security companies, and even the Department of Health.
3. The District conducts weekly joint integrated operations with mining security companies, targeting illegal mining operations. These operations are rotated within the stations in the District that have challenges with illegal mining activities that have resulted in rival groups fighting each other for territory and lucrative mining areas. This in-fighting results in an increase in contact crimes such as murder, attempted murder, assault, robbery and rape. A total of 323 suspects were arrested with regards to illegal mining activities.
4. The stations conduct their own liquor compliance operations on Friday nights to address liquor-related offences.
5. The detectives conduct suspect-tracing operations thrice a week at each police station within the District.
6. The FLASH officials from all stations within the District hold integrated weekly operations which are rotated amongst the stations to check on second-hand goods dealers and liquor outlets to ensure compliance with regards to the Second-Hand Goods Act 6 of 2009, and the Liquor Act 59 of 2003.
Awareness campaigns:
1. The social crime prevention and communication officials with the District together with role players from Social Development, Child Welfare, WRDM, local traffic, Department of Education, West Rand District Environmental Health, Community Safety and patrollers conduct social crime prevention activities every Wednesday.
2. During these interactions with the community they address issues relating to GBV and femicide. The activities are rotated weekly within stations in the District. Safety information is further circulated to inform the public of crime trends, persons of interest, convictions, successes, upcoming activities, and to build the image of the SAPS. They also conduct door-to-door visits, and go to malls and shopping centres.
3. Green Door Ambassadors has been established and will be sustained. This creates hope for victims of GBV and femicide.
4. The District is continuously striving to build a capable and professional SAPS within the District by improving the quality of service through the Service Delivery Improvement Plan, which provides for suggestion boxes, feedback registers, and floor managers. Cubicles for vulnerable victims, elderly and pregnant persons have been implemented.
5. In order to improve police visibility, the District has implemented a high police visibility approach by ensuring that there are more boots on the ground and blue light patrols at night, and sustaining the Community in Blue project and patroller programmes.
Recommendations:
1. District and local municipalities to regulate all spaza and tuck shops
2. The Department of Home Affairs to increase their capacity of immigration officials to deal with the influx of foreign nationals and undocumented persons as the West Rand District is an area dominated by mines where the majority of employees are foreign nationals
3. Environmental design and issues of concern: The street lights are not switched on or not working in Krugersdorp, Randfontein, Westonaria and Carletonville. Local municipalities do not switch on the lights and those that are not working are not attended to. Local municipalities to install Apollo lights to minimise opportunities to commit crime in Bekkersdal, Video informal settlement in Muldersdrift, and Khutsong
CRIME STATS OVERVIEW
Randfontein:
The following crimes have shown an increase:
Contact crimes (crimes against the person)
• Murder by 171,4% (from 7 in the same period January to March 2021 to 19)
• Attempted murder by 120% (from 5 in the same period January to March 2021 to 11)
• Robbery with aggravating circumstances by 30,3% (from 99 in the same period January to March 2021 to 129)
Aggravated robbery
• Robbery at residential premises by 111,1% (from 9 in the same period January to March 2021 to 19)
• Truck hijacking by 150% (from 2 in the same period January to March 2021 to 5)
Contact-related crimes
• Malicious damage to property by 34,8% (from 132 in the same period January to March 2021 to 178)
Other serious crimes
• Commercial crime by 40,9% (from 44 in the same period January to March 2021 to 62)
*Randfontein showed an increase in a number of other crime categories. Those mentioned above were the most notable and staggering. Click here for the full crime stats for this station. Open the document next to the heading, Fourth Quarter Crime Statistics 2021/2022, and search Randfontein.
Westonaria:
Crimes against the person
• Attempted murder by 36,4% (from 11 in the same period January to March 2021 to 15)
Aggravated robbery
• Robbery at residential premises by 50% (from 6 in the same period January to March 2021 to 9)
Contact-related crimes
• Malicious damage to property by 205% (from 20 in the same period January to March 2021 to 61)
Property-related crimes
• Burglary at non-residential premises by 52,9% (from 17 in the same period January to March 2021 to 26)
• Stock theft by 100% (from 2 in the same period January to March 2021 to 4)
Other serious crimes
• All theft not mentioned elsewhere by 73,4% (from 64 in the same period January to March 2021 to 111)
*Westonaria showed an increase in a number of other crime categories. Those mentioned above were the most notable and staggering. Click here for the full crime stats for this station. Open the document next to the heading, Fourth Quarter Crime Statistics 2021/2022 and search Westonaria.
Kagiso:
Contact crimes (crimes against the person)
• Murder by 87% (from 23 in the same period January to March 2021 to 43)
• Attempted murder by 130,8% (from 13 in the same period January to March 2021 to 30)
• Assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm by 38,6% (from 127 in the same period January to March 2021 to 176)
• Robbery with aggravating circumstances by 39,2% (from 120 in the same period January to March 2021 to 167)
Sexual offences
• Sexual assault by 66,7% (from 3 in the same period January to March 2021 to 5)
Aggravated robbery
• Carjacking by 68,4% (from 19 in the same period January to March 2021 to 32)
Contact-related crimes
• Malicious damage to property by 48,8% (from 82 in the same period January to March 2021 to 122)
*Kagiso showed an increase in a number of other crime categories. Those mentioned above were the most notable and staggering. Click here for the full crime stats for this station. Open the document next to the heading, Fourth Quarter Crime Statistics 2021/2022 and search Kagiso.
Krugersdorp:
Aggravated robbery
• Carjacking by 55,6% (from 9 in the same period January to March 2021 to 14)
Property-related crimes
• Burglary at non-residential premises by 32,4% (from 37 in the same period January to March 2021 to 49)
Other serious crimes
• All theft not mentioned elsewhere by 48% (from 177 in the same period January to March 2021 to 262)
*Krugersdorp showed an increase in a number of other crime categories. Those mentioned above were the most notable and staggering. Click here for the full crime stats for this station. Open the document next to the heading, Fourth Quarter Crime Statistics 2021/2022 and search Krugersdorp.
