The Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Deliwe de Lange, has issued a stern warning against all forms of criminality, specifically focusing on the recent spate of unrest and tensions between South Africans and foreign nationals in the Tshwane area.
The police have noted the criminality and will act harshly against anyone found to have been involved in organised and/or individual criminal acts such as inciting violence, business robberies, looting, arson, public violence, possession of or dealing in drugs, and prostitution.
Being a role-playing department in the JCPS Cluster, De Lange further reiterates the message by the JCPS for communities, both South African and foreign nationals, to refrain from deliberately inciting the public to commit acts of violence and from taking the law into their own hands.
Police have already arrested a number of suspects for crimes ranging from business robbery to possession of illegal firearms in Soshanguve, Mabopane, Garankuwa and Rietgat. Police will continue to monitor the area closely and no effort will be spared in ensuring that the criminals are brought to book.
Communities are urged to follow lawful channels to express their concerns. Communities are also encouraged to make use of the Provincial Commissioner’s recently launched hotline number, 082 820 6467, to report on police corruption and complacency. Where members of the public know of or observe a police member or police vehicle used in soliciting and taking bribes, they may inform the Gauteng Police Commissioner by calling the 082 number.
Residents of Rosettenville have come forward and used this number since its launch on Tuesday 13 February 2017, and information received has led to the successful arrest of forty-two (42) suspects – 27 undocumented foreign nationals, 01 for possession of unlicensed firearm, and 14 for possession of or dealing with drugs.
The 10111 number must still be used for emergencies and to report a crime in general.