Cape Town - Police Minister Bheki Cele said more and more murders were connected to the transport sectors, with some killings happening over weekends near taxi ranks.
The National Assembly committee on police summoned the commanders of the five stations with the highest incidence of violent crime to Parliament on Tuesday.
They were accompanied by Cele.
The committee wanted to know from the commanders of Hillbrow, Joburg Central, Kagiso, Mitchells Plain and Nyanga police stations, what strategies they had in place to reduce crime in their areas.
Committee chairperson Francois Beukman said it was critical that violent crime be addressed as the police’s number one priority.
“Murder, attempted murder, robbery and rape are the crimes that affect the safety of communities, and the necessary measures should be taken to intervene in the top five crime stations,” Beukman said.
He added that dealing effectively with the root causes of contact crime was not only a police matter, but also involved other spheres of the government and civil society.
The meeting comes three days before the official launch of the specialised anti-gang unit, that will focus on getting rid of gangs in the Cape Flats.