SAPU WELCOMES CRIME STATISTICS AS A CHALLENGE TO ALL OF US
The South African Policing Union welcomes the release of the crime statistics by the SAPS
management with Police Minister Bheki Cele in parliament with the sense that as much as
there is a slight decline in the murder rate during this period compared to the same period last
year, it is clear that if we could join hands we would certainly make the difference in the fight
against crime. These statistics point to the fact that crime prevention and the fight against crime
is a challenge for all of us South Africans, the law abiding citizenry and law enforcement
agencies. The crime statistics for the second quarter, that is the term between July and
September 2023, are not something we should be proud of as South Africans.
SAPU would like to call upon all stakeholders including the police management, religious,
business, traditional leaders with the general public to join hands with the police in the fight
against crime. We should guard against finger pointing and political point scoring. We call upon
political formation not to exploit the crime situation in our country for selfish political scoring as
we approach the next general elections. In welcoming the government's selfless efforts in the
fight against crime SAPU commends the authorities for the establishment of the Border
Management Authority.
We would also like to call for the national roll-out of the Peace Officers popularly referred to as
amaPhanyaphanya in Gauteng. We welcome and acknowledge all progressive initiatives to
combat crime and call for positive engagements amongst relevant stakeholders to iron out any
legal and constitutional challenges that might exist in order to roll out initiatives like these
across all provinces. Extra boots and human resources will be of great value to the men and
women in blue whom we acknowledge do not meet the United Nations ratio.
The slight difference in these statistics show that we are heading in the right direction. It will
add no value in the primary task of eradicating crime in our society to blame each other. We
have to improve on these statistics. As functionary members on the ground we pledge not to
sleep on duty until we reclaim our streets from merciless criminals. During this festive season
the men and women in blue commit once again to ensure that all law abiding citizens enjoy this
period.
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