South African supremo Cyril Ramaphosa used part of his State of the Nation Address (SONA) to inform the country an SA Police Service (SAPS) crime fighting operation started in 2023 will continue.
Operation Shanela, loosely translated as “to sweep clean”, came into being under the watch of former police minister Bheki Cele.
Ramaphosa called the operation “a bold and decisive approach to dealing with crime” in his address to an invited audience at the Cape Town City Hall. Among others, it sees police using track and trace methods, roadblocks, stop and search and high visibility patrols to detain suspects and prevent the commission of crimes.
“We must tackle the scourge of gun violence that has plagued our society for decades,” SANews reports him saying, adding he asked Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola to prioritise reducing gun-related crime and violence.
“This includes preventing the diversion of firearms into the illicit market and recovering illegal firearms in circulation. We know from international evidence and our own experience that this is the most effective way to reduce overall violent crime.”
He said police had partnered with metropolitan municipalities and was working with communities to fight crime in priority provinces where crime was particularly high.
“We want a nation in which everyone is safe. The police continue to work with other law enforcement agencies to dismantle organised crime syndicates and combat financial and violent crimes,” he said.
The SAPS Detective Service – crucial to solving cases – will be expanded by 4 000 personnel through internal recruitment processes.
“We are working on adopting surveillance, analytics and smart policing solutions for modern law enforcement.
“We have seen the value of technology in fighting crime. By using AI (artificial intelligence) in its fraud risk detection and verification work, SARS (SA Revenue Service) has prevented the leakage of over R95 billion in impermissible refunds, recovered R20 billion in revenue and dismantled an illicit tobacco and gold scheme,” SANews has Ramaphosa saying.
Government, according to the President, continues to work across society to end the violence perpetrated against women.
“We have promulgated the National Council on Gender-based Violence and Femicide Act, establishing a national structure to oversee a co-ordinated response to this crisis.”
Government, he said, would ensure the Council is fully functional and properly resourced.
“We continue to strengthen support to victims of gender-based violence. There are now 65 Thuthuzela care centres across the country. Out of 52 districts in the country, 44 have GBV (gender-based violence) shelters,” the President said.
All police stations in the country have victim friendly services and a further 16 sexual offences courts will be established in the next financial year.
