Monday 28 October saw National Commissioner of Police, General Fannie Masemola, provide an update on the 17-months-long Operation Shanela, which has to date resulted in over 900 000 arrests.
According to General Masemola, the South African Police Service (SAPS), continues “to stamp police authority, through increased police visibility; coordinated bold and decisive law enforcement operations and most importantly improved community participation in the fight against crime.”
Further, General Masemola noted the “overwhelming support and improved active citizenry displayed by South Africans from all walks of life,” which has assisted the SAPS “with information, in tracking down wanted, dangerous and brutal criminals” and which is “appreciated and commended.”
“We have witnessed increased cooperation, and the unity displayed in working closely with communities on various cases including the recent arrest of six suspects linked to the Lusikisiki mass shooting and the arrest of Phethe Simiao, a Mozambican national who has been arrested in connection with the rape and murder of six-year-old Amantle Samane,” said General Masemola.
“I therefore take this opportunity on behalf of the men and women in blue to thank our communities, the social media community and media houses for playing their role in broadcasting and sharing information rapidly to all South Africans.”
The ongoing crisis of mass shootings in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng and the Western Cape are of particular concern, with General Masemola adding it requires SAPS to “ramp up our efforts to put a stop to these shootings that are often perpetuated with illegal, unlicensed and high caliber firearms. These recent incidents have seen us constantly refining our crime combatting strategies.”
General Masemola further noted that in the recent shootings, arrests have been made, something he views as encouraging.
Recently in the Eastern Cape, a mass murder claimed the lives of five family members, “but within days since the commission of the crime, two suspects were arrested and the weapon believed to be used in the commission of the crime was seized,” said General Masemola.
The Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal province and the Western Cape “need to be singled out as this is where the majority of these mass shooting incidents are taking place,” stated General Masemola, adding that the “operational focus therefore remains on the tracing of wanted known criminals and the detection and removal of illegal firearms from our streets.”
In these areas of focus, the SAPS has “beefed-up and reinforced deployments and also deployed specialized teams inclusive of intelligence and organized crime detectives.”
“It is important to note that these four provinces are always prioritized and always receive the largest number of newly trained police officers each year to heighten and increase police visibility in a bid to reduce incidents such as these,” said General Masemola.
However, despite these steps, he noted if the SAPS does not have the cooperation of local communities, “we are not going to be able to win this battle alone, our communities have been instrumental in providing information to the police across the country [and] need to stay on board and continue to work closely with us so we are able to prevent and combat incidents of these nature timeously before they even happen.”