Correspondent
Dr Zamani Saul, the Premier of the Northern Cape, released the second quarter crime statistics report from the South African Police Services for the year to end September in Kimberley onThursday.
Lt Gen Koliswa Otola delivered the final statistics to Premier Saul. Otola was accompanied by members of her top executive. The proceedings commenced with the overview of the crime statistics for the period July to September 2023 by the provincial head for Crime Registrar, Brigadier Samuel Mathe.
Otola stated that the crime statistics contained all incidents reported in the Northern Cape Province against those who live within the province and those who were unfortunate to visit the province and ended up being victims of some type of crime.
“These are only crimes which were reported to the South African Police Service and recorded as such by our men and women in blue including the administrative staff in all our 91 police stations in the province”.
Otola went on to mention that Riemvasmaak in the ZF Mgcawu district has been operational since 8 May this year and was registered as an independent station on the South African Police Service systems on 1 August.
“The Riemvasmaak outpost brings our police stations in the province to 92.
The date of the official opening of this station will still be announced”.
The MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Nomadla Bloem urged young girls not to go out with strangers or to walk with persons who were unknown to them. Bloem encouraged parents to take responsibility for their children and be aware of their whereabouts and their conduct.
She also reiterated with concern that there was no spirit of Ubuntu in society.
“Community must be aware of what the youth are exposed to on social media platforms”. She also aired her concern regarding the abuse of alcohol during the festive season which may lead to serious contact crimes.
Saul indicated that abuse of alcohol and drugs was the root cause of crime. He emphasised the importance of stakeholder involvement in ensuring the success of Operation Shanela as well other policing operations and actions.
The Premier commended the SAPS for their enduring and relentless efforts in fighting crime in the province. “The brutal nature of crimes perpetrated against women and children, especially during the observance of the “16 Days of Activism Campaign” was regrettable and unfortunate”, he said.
Responding to questions from the media, Lt Gen Otola mirrored the comments made by MEC Bloem and also indicated that parents must take responsibility for their children and not “outsource” their responsibilities to others. “The abuse of alcohol will also impair their parental responsibilities and they must refrain from consuming alcohol when in the presence of their children”.
In conclusion the Premier, Dr Zamani Saul wished all law enforcement officers a safe and blessed Festive Season.
Comments are closed.