Cabinet has urged communities around the country to partner with government and law enforcement agencies to combat crime.
“Cabinet is convinced that it is only through working together that we can all benefit from creating safer communities that are able to develop,” Communications Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane said on Thursday.
The Minister was addressing a media briefing after Cabinet's regular meeting, which was held soon after the release of national crime statistics by Police Minister Fikile Mbalula.
The crime statistics for 2016/17 revealed concerning trends related to public safety in South Africa. Murder and organised crime – including carjacking - recorded an increase.
Murder rose by 1.8% in the 2016/17 financial year after 19 016 cases were reported. Robbery with aggravating circumstances – which includes carjacking, residential and non-residential robberies, truck hijacking, cash-in-transit robberies and bank robberies - went up by 6.4% - from 132 527 reported cases in 2015/16 to 140 956 cases in 2016/17.
Minister Kubayi-Ngubane said crime statistics help government and the South African Police Service to monitor key targets and serve as an early-warning mechanism to strengthen crime prevention operations and strategies.
SAPS has launched the National Trio Crimes Task Team to help the police respond better to crime. The SAPS has also re-launched Tactical Response Teams and Tracking Teams. The Tactical Response Teams will focus on medium to high-risk policing operations, while Tracking Teams will focus on finding dangerous evasive criminals. – SAnews.gov.za
