National Police Commissioner-General Fannie Masemola said the police will continue to be vigilant to prevent and combat lawlessness as the country enters the new year.
“While the police will be deployed to hotspot areas, members of the public are advised to be extra vigilant in their surroundings and report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station.
“We call on everyone to behave in an orderly and responsible manner as we celebrate the new year, most importantly don’t drink and drive so that there are no casualties on the roads”, said Masemola.
With Operation Safer Festive Season across the country, Masemola said he was satisfied with the progress the police had made to ensure a safer festive season for everyone on South Africa’s coast.
The Safer Festive Season Operational Plan focuses on six areas which include preventing and improving police action against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF), preventing and combating aggravated armed robbery, improving border security, enforcing laws and regulations as well as road safety.
With the addition of more boots on the ground after the deployment of 10 000 newly trained constables, the police according to Masemola have worked hard to improve the visibility of the police through integrated and joint law enforcement crime fighting operations including patrolling, stop and search, roadblocks. and track down the wanted suspect.
Also read: Heavy festive season police
Compliance inspections continue to be carried out by the police at companies that sell alcohol and also at second-hand shops including gun shop owners.
Police successes since the start of the festive season:
· 2 940 people without illegal documents were arrested
· 2 729 suspects were imprisoned for drug crimes
· 1 284 suspects were arrested for illegal dealing in liquor
· 628 suspects were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol
· 305 suspects were arrested and charged with murder
· 527 suspects were arrested and prosecuted for sexual offenses including rape
· 31 suspects involved in the kidnapping case were arrested by the police
· 445 firearms were seized including 7219 rounds of ammunition
· 244 stolen vehicles recovered
· 9 444 explosives were seized
Last week, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said that more than 3 000 people were arrested this festive season, as drunken driving and speeding have been cited as one of the main factors behind the increasing number of road accidents.
Also read: More than 3000 jailed as hundreds die in festive street carnage