400+ held for murder in KZN
2008-01-10 13:02
Durban - More than 400 people were arrested for murder in less than two months in KwaZulu-Natal, community safety MEC Bheki Cele said on Thursday.
He was speaking at the Elangeni Hotel in Durban on the department's festive season anti-crime operation.
Between November 14 last year and January 8 this year, 445 people had been arrested for murder in the province. This amounted to at least seven people being arrested each day for murder.
Another 195 people were charged for attempted murder and 2007 others were nabbed for assault to do grievous bodily harm.
"The arrests can be attributed to the excellent strategies implemented by the police and other agencies to ensure a safe and secure festive season," said Cele.
More than 1 100 people were arrested for common assault, 1 322 were caught for drug-related crimes and 441 were held for rape.
Cele said the increased police presence on streets led to suspects being arrested immediately after a crime incident had been reported.
"Although it was almost impossible to prevent all crimes from occurring, police redeemed themselves by taking appropriate action when such incidents occurred," said Cele.
He also reiterated his shoot to kill policy for policeman.
"To my policemen, I repeat, if a criminal points a gun at you, shoot first and shoot hard," said Cele.
Provincial police commissioner Hamilton Ngidi said police were able to stamp out ATM bombers and cash heist gangs during this time.
"Our province has really been successful in stamping out cash heist gangs and ATM bombers and in the last six months we have not even had a bank robbery," said Ngidi.
Cele stressed that future operations would be even more intensive but that criminals could only be caught with the help of communities.
- SAPA