The Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Community Safety applauded the police and other law enforcement for achieving a decline in crime in the province.

Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni presented the province’s crime statistics on Friday for the second quarter of 2024/25 financial year.

Chairperson of the Committee Bandile Masuku said this marked the second consecutive quarter in the current financial year for the province, where crime statistics showed a decline in overall crime incidents.

“This significant progress highlights the commitment of SAPS and its partners to ensuring the safety and security of all Gauteng residents,” said Masuku.

The province saw a 7.6% decline in contact crimes, which include offences such as murder, attempted murder assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), and aggravated robbery.

Masuku said there was a significant decline in murder, attempted murder and assault-related offences.

The province witnessed a 6.0% reduction in crime incidents, which meant that crime reports dropped by 6525 cases.

Mthombeni said Gauteng was the only province that managed to achieve a decrease in 15 of the 17 community-reported serious crimes. “We are mindful that the community continues to be affected by crimes as the reported figures remain high,” he said.

In the wake of widespread food contamination cases, Mthombeni highlighted there was a clampdown on non-compliant spaza shops.

“We have since closed 413 spaza shops, dealt with 693 for non-compliance, and arrested 227 for illegal immigrant,” he said.

The province also saw reductions in property-related crimes, with arson and malicious property damage decreasing by 10.7%.

Law enforcement agencies made 22 243 arrests under Operation Shanela.

Sixty-nine arrests were made for murder, 102 for aggravated robbery, 3251 for drug-related offences, and 294 for illegal possession of firearms and/or ammunition.

Additionally, 1115 arrests were made for assault GBH, 966 were for common assault, and 3149 accounted for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The police also recovered 238 firearms, which included 22 rifles, five shotguns and 211 pistols.

Other successful recoveries included 3480 rounds of ammunition, 138 stolen or hijacked vehicles, drugs that weighed 173 117kg, 23 118kg of stolen infrastructure cables, and 487 024 counterfeit or illicit goods.

“The above figures reflect a positive step towards ensuring safer communities across Gauteng and further bear testament to the diligent efforts of police officers, strategic interventions such as Operation Shanela, and partnerships with communities to combat crime,” said Masuku.

Despite a decrease in crime, Masuku raised concerns about an increase in sexual offences, particularly rape and sexual assault.

He added that there was also a rise in crimes related to theft, commercial crimes and shoplifting.

“These categories require urgent attention and continued collaboration between law enforcement and communities to reverse the trend,” said Masuku.

Masuku concerns come after Premier Panyaza Lesufi recently handed over 209 police vehicles in efforts to combat a crime-infested Gauteng.

“The Star” reported that police had received over 12 000 CCTV cameras, three helicopters and 12 000 traffic wardens in the past 18 months.

Lesufi said Johannesburg would receive the largest share from the crime-prevention resources as it is a crime hotspot.

Masuku further urged that the police should sustain the momentum in crime reduction.

“We urge SAPS to remain steadfast in addressing all forms of crime, particularly gender-based violence, drug-related offences, and organised crime.

“Furthermore, the Committee calls on communities to continue supporting the police by reporting criminal activity, and participating in safety programmes,” said Masuku.

The Star

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Police commended for Gauteng’s crime reduction efforts