Johannesburg - #FeesMustFall protests at Gauteng universities are shifting the police’s focus from crime-fighting efforts to trying to stamp out violent student demonstrations.
Land invasions, which have increased in frequency since the August 3 municipal elections, are also hindering police efforts to deal with criminals.
Major-General Eric Nkuna, Gauteng’s deputy commissioner for visible policing, said this when he and the commissioner, Lieutenant-General Deliwe de Lange, appeared before the standing committee on community safety.
Nkuna was speaking on Tuesday, the same day as Minister of Higher Education and Training Blade Nzimande announced that universities could hike their fees but by no more than 8 percent. This led to violent protests across the country.
Students at Wits University became embroiled in violent confrontations with campus security guards, leading to the intervention of the police.
Kuna told the committee: “During land invasions, we had to send our members to stop (them) - something which falls outside our duties.
“In most cases, the police had to accept memorandums on behalf of local government officials because the cellphones of the people responsible had been switched off.”
Nkuna said there were a number of police stations in Gauteng that had been unable to contain levels of serious crimes, such as murders in Tembisa and house robberies in Sandton and parts of Pretoria.
The Gauteng Department of Community Safety gave a detailed account of several police stations that had recorded increases in serious offences in 2015.
The acting head of the provincial secretariat, Dumisani Ngema, said that in the financial year ending on March 31, Gauteng recorded 4.7 percent more in murders than in 2014.
In his presentation to the portfolio committee on safety, Ngema named the police stations dealing with high incidences of murder.
“The analysis of data suggests that since the financial year 2012/2013, incidents of murder increased by 29 percent.
“In fact, during the financial year 2015/16, the province recorded an increase of 4.7 percent.
“Analysis of the data suggests these incidents were, in the period under review, prevalent in the following clusters in their specific order: Ekurhuleni West; Sedibeng; West Rand; Soweto West; Ekurhuleni North; Ekurhuleni Central, Tshwane North; Johannesburg West, Ekurhuleni East; and Soweto East.”
According to the list of top 16 police stations - Hillbrow headed the list with a 74.1 percent increase in the number of murders.
It was followed by Honeydew on the West Rand with a rise of 55.1 percent, and Moroka in Soweto with 45.8 percent more.
Eden Park police station’s murder cases increased by 23.4 percent, Kagiso by 21.9 percent and Tembisa by 18.8 percent.
There had, however, been a significant drop in the number of murders in Alexandra - 8.7 percent, in the Ivory Park the figure was down 19.2 percent, and in Orange Farm by 8.7 percent.
The once-violent Thokoza township surprised many MPLs as the officers said the murder rate had dropped markedly.
Other serious crimes had marginally increased, but car hijackings had spiralled to worrying proportions, especially in Yeoville. While there were more recorded incidents of hijacking in Pretoria North, Yeoville in Joburg recorded the highest increase.
Yeoville recorded a 230.2 percent increase in hijackings.
It was followed by Soshanguve, with 43.1 percent more and Mamelodi East with a rise of 40.5 percent. Temba in Hammanskraal recorded a 34.1 percent increase in car hijackings, while the incidence dropped 25.5 percent, the biggest drop yet, in Alexandra.
Neighbouring Sandton had experienced a 16.9 percent increase in house robberies.
The highest incidences of house robberies were recorded in Norkem Park, with 46.8 percent; Temba by 38.9 percent; Soshanguve and Diepsloot by 32.9 percent and 32.1 percenty.
According to Ngema, the situation would change if police implemented their murder action plan, adopted in 2015.
The Community Safety Department also wants to implement the joint co-operation agreement between the police, metro police and other law enforcement agencies.
According to the plan, seen by the Sunday Independent, special units would be headed by a chief of the metro police.
Portfolio committee chairman Sox Khanyile said his committee noted a disturbing increase in murder incidents in the province.
“The committee has noted that since the financial year 2012/13 incidents of murder increased by 29 percent in Gauteng. In the 2015/16 period, the province recorded a further 4.7 percent increase in murder incidents.
“The increase is a serious cause for concern for the committee, as it paints a picture that residents are not safe in the province,” he said.
He said more intervention programmes were needed in high-crime areas.
According to Khanyile, the fight against crime required the involvement of all key role players and meaningful community participation.
“And although crimes such as house robberies and sexual offences recorded a decrease in the 2015/16 financial year, the committee remains concerned,” Khanyile said.
The Sunday Independent