Gauteng 'becoming safer'

2005-02-23 04:07

Johannesburg - Effective policing and social crime prevention programmes are making Gauteng a safer place, but there is still a lot to be done, said community safety MEC Firoz Cachalia on Tuesday.

"Levels of crime are still too high so we cannot announce victory yet," he said at the media briefing in Johannesburg.

While evidence is clear that a national pattern of improvement is being reflected in Gauteng, he admits there is still a lot to be done.

There has been a dramatic reduction of death by unnatural causes which has been confirmed by independent surveys by the Institute for Security Studies and insurance companies.

Cachalia said that in the last financial year 1 335 new police personnel had been deployed in Gauteng.

"The provincial government plans to develop priorities specific to the province and identify the needs and priorities of the province in relation to crime," he said.

Drugs

A strong focus in months ahead would be the problem of drugs in schools which was identified as a area which needs improving "especially through the co-ordination of focus areas and progress".

"We want to encourage pupils to report any matter concerning drugs to the police or even the department. Every complaint will be investigated," said Cachalia.

Intelligence-led policing has contributed significantly to results against organised crime.

In the past year police seized drugs to the value of more than R9m.

Cachalia says that schools provide a particular market for suppliers of drugs and principals are not sure how to deal with pupils behaving like criminals.

"It is outrageous that criminals are targeting the school system," he said.

Fewer hijackings

There has been a decrease in serious and violent crime with hijackings dropping by 23%. There has also been an increased conviction rate of 16.3% in these serious and violent crimes.

Corruption within the police force has seen 114 police members arrested.

Cachalia said that increased awareness by communities has increased the amount of crimes against women and children that are reported by 1.8% which led to an increased conviction rate in these cases by 22.7%.

He said that the government's plans to fight crime were beginning to bear fruit, but it was important to co-ordinate the different law enforcement agencies and to improve the way different governmental departments co-ordinate in areas of shared concern.

- SAPA