Gauteng top cop acknowledges partnerships as province sees decline in contact crimes
Image: Freddy Mavunda/Business Day
Gauteng police's crime-fighting initiatives seem to be working as the province recorded a decrease in contact crimes in the third quarter (October to December 2024) compared with the same period the year before.
Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Tommy Mthombeni on Friday released the third-quarter crime stats for the 2024/25 financial year.
Contact crimes include murder, assault, rape, trio crimes (carjacking, robbery at residential premises and robbery at business premises), cash-in-transit heists, truck hijacking and kidnapping.
Contact crimes dropped by 4.7%, compared with the previous year.
Mthombeni said the downward trend gave them hope they were moving in the right direction.
“I have to acknowledge we did not achieve this on our own. It was a concerted effort by the police in partnership with other law enforcement agencies and stakeholders.
“We remain resolute as the SAPS in Gauteng that our efforts to prevent and combat crime, to arrest criminals and deliver solid cases that can stand in up court are proving to be effective,” he said.
Through Operation Shanela, from October to December, police arrested 34,910 suspects for various crimes, including 10,936 illegal immigrants.
About 4,601 suspects were arrested for contact crimes, including 140 for murder and 114 for attempted murder. During this period, 351 illegal firearms (including 31 rifles and seven shotguns) and 6,608 rounds of ammunition were seized.
The Hawks, with the organised crime investigations unit, arrested eight suspects and closed down six drugs laboratories.
Great strides were made in combating illicit mining. During Operation Vala Umgodi, police arrested 1,034 suspects, including 586 illegal immigrants, and seized tools of trade.
“We are also dealing decisively with counterfeit and illicit goods. For the quarter we seized more than 420,000 items valued at R12m and more than R500,000 in cash.”
Other serious crimes decreased by 3.8% compared with the same period in the 2023/2024 financial year. This category includes theft, commercial crimes and shoplifting.
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