Religious groups to help stop cult crimes

CAPE TIMES ONLY NO GROUP 35th Annual Crime Stoppers International Conference © Anthea Davison 1 time single use

CAPE TIMES ONLY NO GROUP 35th Annual Crime Stoppers International Conference © Anthea Davison 1 time single use

Published Oct 15, 2014

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Lisa Isaacs

CHRISTIAN-based cult groups that committed crimes were becoming more prevalent in South Africa, the head of a police unit investigating occult-related offences told a global anti-crime summit in the city yesterday.

Colonel Attie Lamprecht, the section commander for Crime Stop’s harmful occult-related crimes and missing persons unit, said the team was often referred to as “ghostbusters” or the “X-Files” team.

It investigated muti-related offences, those who persecuted and accused others of practising witchcraft and those inciting others to kill because of occult beliefs.

The unit also investigated unethical initiations, religious fundamentalists, “black magic” rituals and conmen.

Lamprecht was addressing the three-day 35th Annual Crime Stoppers Convention held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre yesterday.

“(Of the) cults found in our country, (the) majority of them are Christian-based,” he said.

Crimes committed by these cults included human sacrifices, decapitation and the killing of pets for sacrifice or sexual arousal – a growing trend he had identified.

He said the unit often encountered skinned cats nailed to doors of churches, slashed bibles, and muti murders, in which victims were mutilated while alive.

“It is important to step back and remove the belief system... the supernatural angle is the absolute last angle of investigation. Only what can be proved in court can be pursued,” he said.

Lamprecht told delegates of women arriving at police stations claiming they had been raped by a tokoloshe, or women seeking protection from police after being labelled a witch. He said each of these incidents would be investigated, and urged police and religious movements to work together to tackle occult-related crimes. Earlier, Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu made a guest appearance at the convention.

Tutu told police officers and law-enforcement officials that they were some of the most important people in society.

“You are in a wonderful profession. You can make a happy, safe community... people go to bed not afraid,” he said.

Tutu told of how, during apartheid, the police were feared. “If you were black African, police could ask you for your pass, and if you didn’t have it, you would be arrested... when you see a police officer now, you no longer have a cold sweat.” In the following session, Dr Johan Burger, of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), recapped the recently released crime stats, and highlighted the worrying increase of aggravated robbery incidents over the past four years.

He singled out a “trio” of crimes – house robberies, business robberies and car hijackings – which he said went hand in hand, and was the product of organised crime syndicates.

Burger said the recent spate of robberies at shopping centres around the country had increased by 142 percent, as organised criminals continuously shifted their targets – from banks to shopping malls.

“These sophisticated criminals do risk analysis. They see where they can profit more,” said Burger. He said a multi-agency approach between police, private security and the community was essential to fight crime.

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