Since 6 October 2014 KwaZulu-Natal police as well as other security agencies and government departments embarked on an operation to police the province during the Festive Season. Operations were launched across the province with the Provincial Commissioner personally steering operations on the ground. This has led to many proactive police initiatives that resulted in criminals being stopped in their tracks whilst on route to commit crimes and an increased reactive capacity that has resulted in criminals fleeing from crime scenes being apprehended. Detectives are also part of the operation to ensure that cases are investigated with a view of gathering evidence and ensuring that perpetrators are arrested speedily.
Since the start of these operations 694 suspects have been arrested for murder across the province. A total of 99 suspects have been arrested for hijackings whilst 447 suspects have been arrested for robberies on houses and businesses. Whilst these operations coincided with the 16 Days of Activism Campaign, 724 suspects have been arrested for rape and sexual assault. Assaults still remain a concern following the arrest of 5927 suspects across the province. A total of 1681 suspects have been arrested for burglary at residential premises while 132 persons have been arrested for theft of motor vehicles. During this period we have continued to focus our attention on drugs with 7852 suspects having been arrested for drug related offences while 1871 suspects have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. With liquor remains as a major contributor to serious crimes, 6060 suspects have been arrested for liquor related offences. Due to the high police presence, 798 suspects have been arrested for being in possession of stolen property. With firearms still being used in the commission of serious crimes, operations focussing on firearms have resulted in 488 arrests whilst 791 firearms have been recovered since the start of the festive season operations.
The KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mmamonnye Ngobeni congratulates police officers across the province for their commitment and dedication towards the Festive Season Operations. “It is obvious that police and other role-players are really working hard to ensure that our Festive Season will be safe for residents and visitors to the Province. We appreciate the fact that many of our police officers will be sacrificing their leave over this period whilst others will be relinquishing their administrative roles to work in the field to ensure that our people are safe. We also want to thank all other law enforcement agencies and government departments that are working with us to secure the province over this period. We appeal to residents to remain extra vigilant especially if you are carrying large sums of cash. We also will appreciate if those who have information on criminal activity can please come forward and work with police to bring criminals to book,” she said.
Also view: