By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela has revealed that crime in the province has decreased by 2.6% between July and September.
Mawela on Thursday briefed the provincial legislature on the province’s crime statistics for the second quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.
“As a province, we have worked very hard to reduce our crime statistics. We continue to work even harder to implement our crime-combatting strategies in order to defend the positive gains achieved for the quarter under review,” said Mawela.
According to Mawela, Gauteng is among the top four provinces that reduced their overall crime. Ten out of 17 community reported serious crimes were reduced, with 2,892 counts less than the same period in 2022.
Overall, the province recorded a decrease in property-related crimes, which include burglary at residential and non-residential premises, theft of motor vehicles and cycles, and stock theft.
Property-related crimes decreased by 1,281 counts. Arson reduced by 36 counts, while malicious damage to property was reduced by 410.
According to Mawela, crime detected as a result of police action, which include illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, drug-related crimes, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and sexual offences, increased by 2,127 counts.
Our strategies are bearing fruits as we are able to see that our deployments have translated to the detection of crime that would have otherwise never been reported,” said Mawela.
“The detection of these crimes is dependent on the deployment of law enforcement agencies and crime intelligence officers. An increase in these crimes is proof that our crime patterns and threat analyses which guide our deployment are spot on.”
During the period, 1,129 arrests were made for possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition, while 1,236 unlicensed firearms and 16,371 ammunition were recovered.
Mawela acknowledges that more work is needed for the police to win the fight against illegal mining which gives them sleepless nights.
He has proposed a multi-disciplinary approach to combat illegal mining activities and slammed those who rent their homes to illegal miners, for creating an enabling environment for illegal mining activities.