Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight to unpack crime stats

Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, will engage the Western Cape Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile on the third quarter crime statistics for the province on Tuesday, 21 February.

Following this engagement, a briefing will be held to further unpack the crime statistics.

This comes after the police ministry held a media briefing on Friday,17 February where they announced the increase in crime rates from October to December 2022.

CRIME STATS SHOW INCREASE IN WESTERN CAPE

The crime report showed that there were 1 198 murders recorded in the Western Cape. This is 142 (13,4%) more cases compared to the previous year’s period.

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Eight of the Western Cape South African Police Services (SAPS) stations are on the list of the top 30 murder stations in the country. Of these, Khayelitsha showed a decrease of 11,11%, while the other 7 had increased.

ALLEN PLEASED WITH MURDER DECREASE IN KHAYELITSHA

“This report paints a grim picture and is gut-wrenching. It presents us with an opportunity to take stock and review our methodologies and the impact thereof. While I am still deeply concerned, I am encouraged by the decrease in Khayelitsha, particularly since the area has been plagued by mass killings. It is clear that criminal elements are monitoring and studying our operations in order to adapt their illicit activities.

FURTHER PLANS TO DECREASE CRIME IN THE PROVINCE

“We will be convening an urgent engagement with relevant stakeholders to interrogate these results. As much as the law enforcement component will be discussed, there will also be a particular focus on violence prevention. We will also continue to amend the operations of our 1 200 Law Enforcement Advancement Programme (LEAP) officers that work in partnership with the City of Cape Town so that they respond directly to the current needs,” said Allen.

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