Durban - In three months, 171 suspects had been arrested in Pietermaritzburg for various offences including murder, attempted murder, robbery, rape, theft and business robbery by a newly formed crime busting team, CAT.
The Combined Action Team - a partnership between police, security companies and the community - had also recovered motor vehicles and motorcycles valued at R3 million, and stolen property worth more than R4m, from March.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni congratulated the team in a function at the Mountain Rise police station on Wednesday.
She said if relationships with communities improved, the grip on crime would be tightened further.
The project was initially authorised to run for six months. However, depending on its successes, it would be evaluated and might continue afterwards.
It was launched to address serious and violent crimes, tracing of serious and violent crime suspects, to conduct stop-and-search operations and arrest drug dealers.
The chief of operations of the project, Nobin Karien, said some of the suspects had been linked to other criminal cases.
“All these arrests have contributed to a decrease in crime in the Pietermaritzburg area.”
Drugs valued at R150 000 and 12 unlicensed firearms were also recovered. The firearms had been sent to the ballistic unit for forensic examination, said Karien.
Elaborating on the successes, he said that in March, four men broke into a house in Estcourt and stole household appliances. They fled in a stolen SUV. When the project members heard about this they teamed up and went to the highway where they saw the vehicle and gave chase.
The SUV crashed and four suspects, aged between 23 and 34, were arrested.
Stolen property valued at R1.1m was recovered from the wreckage.
Then in April six suspects linked to 80 housebreaking and theft cases were arrested in a crime prevention operation. The suspects used to ring on the doorbells of houses in upmarket areas and if no one answered they would break in and steal.
Property valued at R3.2m was recovered.
The chairman of the Mountain Rise Community Forum, Jay Jugwanth, said the project had proved successful in a short time.
“The community must realise that crime will not simply disappear and we need to create conditions that will eradicate crime.
“The success will also depend on a community policing partnership.”
The Mountain Rise police station commander, Brigadier Francis Bantham, thanked all the role-players.
“We are optimistic that the tide is turning.”
The Mercury