As police continue to crackdown on violent and serious crime, South African Police Service (SAPS) National Commissioner, General Fannie Masemola, has urged criminals to surrender themselves when called to do so by police.
Providing an update on the countrywide police operations during a media briefing in Johannesburg on Thursday, the National Commissioner warned criminals that police will continue to use force that is proportional to the threat when they are defending themselves and the communities they serve.
He was addressing concerns expressed by ordinary citizens and experts within the field of policing in relation to the number of suspects that have been shot and killed by police in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in recent months.
“It is important to clarify that, our mandate as the SAPS is to bring perpetrators to justice by arresting them, but quite often in pursuit of arresting these often dangerous and heavily armed criminals, our police officers are more than often met with heavy gunfire and that leaves our officers with no option but to defend themselves and the communities that they serve.
“On Tuesday evening, our members in KZN were tracing suspects who were linked to and wanted in at least 13 cases of business robbery and car hijacking in the Cator Manor and Durban Central Policing Precinct when they were met with gunfire.
“Five suspects were fatally wounded and fortunately no police officer was wounded in the attack. Just last week, KZN police shot and killed nine suspects in various incidents. In all these incidents, police were met with gunfire and various kinds of high calibre firearms were seized which include automatic rifles,” he said.
All these suspects were wanted in connection with serious and violent crimes, including murders and ATM bombings.
At the incident in Kwadlangezwa in Empangeni, the three suspects that succumbed to their injuries were wanted and linked in connection with at least ten cases of murder in the province.
“It is on this note that we urge criminals to surrender themselves when called to do so by police…. we will continue to use force that is proportional to the threat,” Masemola said.
As part of ongoing operations on the ground, police have secured the arrest of 766 237 suspects for various crimes.
These include 161 752 wanted suspects for priority crimes, including murder, cash-in-transit armed robberies, sexual offences, rape, car hijacking and firearm related offences.
Police visibility
The National Commissioner emphasised that heightening and enhancing police visibility as a form of a deterrent to crime is at the top of the SAPS agenda.
“Our ears remain on the ground, and we are well aware that our communities want to see more police officers on the ground. This is why we have recruited and trained 20 000 police officers in two years, who are already serving and protecting communities at grassroots level of policing.
“All these members have capacitated our police stations and various specialised units, including crime intelligence and the detective environment, where capacity is much needed,” he said.
Masemola announced that there are currently 4 500 recruits in training and the remaining 5 500 recruits will commence with training in January 2025.
“Through collaboration with key stakeholders in the fight against crime which includes various government departments and entities, it is our collaboration with private security as our eyes and ears on the ground that is proving to be effective and beneficial. Through our E2 project with private security, we have been able to share resources and intercept criminals jointly, through working together,” he said.
Investigation on 95 Libyan nationals
Police are continuing with investigations into 95 Libyan nationals who are alleged to have been receiving training at an illegal military training camp in White River, Mpumalanga.
The Libyan nationals allegedly entered the country with visas that were acquired through misrepresentation in Tunis, Tunisia.
“The focus is on who provided the nationals with Visa’s? And why did they opt to receive their training in South Africa? As well as who funded their training and for what purpose?” the National Commissioner said. – SAnews.gov.za
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