PRETORIA - Office-bound members of the SA Police Service will soon leave their desks to help fight crime on the streets of South Africa, Police Minister Bheki Clele said on Monday.
Cele and national police commissioner General Khehla Sithole briefed journalists on the SAPS plan to combat violent crimes.
''I have directed the SAPS top management to adopt an extraordinary operational approach to stabilise this crime wave which must be followed by a normalisation approach.Therefore, in our efforts to stamping the authority of the State, we will be introducing the execution of a high density stabilization intervention going forward,'' Cele told reporters in Pretoria.
''This will entail the migration of resources from a strategic framework level to an operational framework level. This means that in provinces such as Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape, which are most affected by this crime wave, will be boosted by the deployment of lieutenant generals. We will also be mobilizing all members that are ordinarily tasked with administration duties to augment the visibility of police officers, particularly in identified hotpot areas in all provinces.''
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The country is under siege as violent crimes increase, including a surge in cash-in-transit heists where armed gangs mercilessly attack cash vans often leaving victims in their wake. Cele said the cash heists, vehicle hijacking, murders and related crimes, house robberies, gang violence and taxi violence will be prioritised.
Police will also tackle unresolved cases, said Cele.
''In order to ensure a sustainable stabilization of crime, we realised that we would also need to ensure a downward management of cold cases. Dedicated detectives will be working around the clock to gather information and evidence to identify those responsible for committing such serious and violent crimes.''