SAPS annual crime statistics revealed that Gauteng has now become the second murder capital in the country.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is deeply concerned about the stats.
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The crime stats indicate that Gauteng is number one in the country in terms of causes of murder in the following: arguments/ misunderstanding (not related to domestic) 1099, robbery (house/ business/ street) 353, taxi related murder 105, rape related murder 19, illicit mining 61, bullying at school 4, public /service deliver protest 6 and antagonism forward foreigners 5.
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, John Moodey said it clearly indicates that that the safety of residents is under threat.
“The law enforcement agencies are not doing enough to ensure residents’ safety,” he said.
He said Gauteng is also leading in terms of the illegal mining victims that were killed.
“There were nine victims killed in Roodeport. There are also seven victims that were killed at different crime scenes in Benoni and are suspected of being involved in illegal mining,” he said.
Moodey said the DA has been calling on both the SAPS and the Department of Community Safety to stop illegal mining in our province yet there is nothing that has been done.
“There is no police visibility in those areas where illegal mining activities are taking place,” he said.
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He said the overall number of murders in Gauteng has increased by 1,3 % from 4495 in 2018/2019 to 4555 in 2019/2020.
“This increase in murder cases is worrying and clearly indicates that SAPS is failing in its responsibility to prevent, combat and investigate crime,” he said.
He said that the DA believes that it is the responsibility of the SAPS to prevent anything that may threaten the safety or security of any community and to ensure criminals are brought to justice.
“We will hold both the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela to account to ensure that police do their duty of preventing and combating crime in this province. We will also table questions in the Gauteng Legislature to ascertain what measures are being put in place to curb the increasing number of murders in the province,” he said.
