Police Minister Bheki Cele may fancy himself as the tough-talking sheriff, but for all his bluster, he falls woefully short. The performance agreement he signed holds him to lofty standards; reducing organised crime syndicates across crime forms by 90%, reducing gang activity by 50%, bringing down levels of contact crime and making women feel safer when they walk in the streets at night, among many other measurables.
On the reduction of organised crime, it is difficult to gauge the success or failure of the hat-wearing minister against his performance agreement with the president. The detail around what the police have managed to do in dismantling organised crime networks and syndicates are not included in public crime statistics briefings. But with contact crimes, especially against women and children, the numbers are up. The murder rate of women rose by 7.7 percent from July to September, compared to the same period the previous year. The murder rate of children rose by more than 30%.
READ | Crime stats: July unrest contributed to increase in murders in Gauteng and KZN - Bheki Cele
