Polokwane, Westenburg police stations note increase in these crimes
Police Commissioner Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe said measures will be put into place at various police stations to ensure a more reactive approach that will ensure that officers attend to crimes as they are ongoing.
Murder, attempted murder and sexual offences cases at the Polokwane Police Station increased in the fourth quarter of 2020/21 compared with the same period in the 2019/20 financial year.
Police Commissioner Lt Gen Thembi Hadebe said measures will be put into place at various police stations to ensure a more reactive approach that will ensure that officers attend to crimes as they are ongoing.
“We want to make sure we prevent crime as much as put criminals in jail. After extensive meetings with the stakeholders the current shortcomings of the police were noted and are being improved upon.”
The station also recorded a 4,6% increase in robbery with aggravating circumstances which is an increase of four cases.
Six new rape cases were recorded in this period while other sexual offences came with a slight decrease. Robbery at residential places, robberies at non-residential places and carjacking increased by three, five and one cases respectively.
Certain crimes detected as a result of police action has decreased such as illegal possession of firearms and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs with four and 157 less cases respectively. In the same category, more drug-related crime and sexual offences were recorded with 67 and 11 new cases.
All other crimes saw a decline compared to the same period in the previous year.
The Westenburg Police Station four more sexual offence cases were recorded in the crimes against persons category with the rest of the crimes recording decreases with the most significant being robbery with aggravating circumstances with a 36 cases difference.
In the sexual offences category, attempted sexual offence is the only crime with no difference while the rest saw an increase.
Sexual assault and contact sexual assaults both recorded an increase of one case each while two more rape cases were recorded as compared to the same period in the previous financial year.
Robbery at residential places increased by three cases while other forms of robbery decline or remained the same.
A total of 12 more malicious damage to property cases were recorded along with five theft of motor vehicles or motor cycles, and nine cases of theft out of motor vehicles.
Eight additional cases of commercial crimes were recorded in the serious crimes category and crime detected as a result of police action saw an increase in the illegal possession of firearm and ammunition, drug-related crimes and sexual offences with five, nine and 28 new cases respectively.
