“These figures come as no surprise, and I also can’t see it getting better anytime soon. How can anyone expect police officers at the grassroots level to provide an effective crime prevention service when senior appointments in the SAPS have no operational experience?” says Ronnie Schilling, TLU SA East and Natal, regional manager.
This response comes after the announcement earlier this morning of the latest crime statistics. From October 2022 to December 2022, there were 86 murders reported in rural areas with 92 attempted murders.
Schilling goes on to say that intelligence-driven operations are something we only see in “cowboys and crooks” programmes in South Africa. “The sentences awarded for crimes, if any, have long ceased to be a deterrent for the criminal.”
Bertus van der Westhuizen, TLU SA Free State regional chairman, believes that Bheki Cele, Minister of Police, should take responsibility for the crime figures. “We as the public pay him a salary with tax money to perform this very important and responsible task. He must protect us and create a safe and orderly environment in which we can work and live. He’s not doing it. He’s failing in the job we pay him to do. He must vacate his position and make way for someone who can do the job.”
Herman de Wet, TLU SA Natal regional chairman, suggests the solution to the problem: “Remove the rotten elements from the SAPS so that plans can be put into action.”
Bennie van Zyl, CEO of TLU SA, regrets that crime in South Africa has been managed as statistics for some time now. “If there were actual government action to look after the safety of citizens, statistics could be useful. However, it only shows how incompetent the government is in looking after the safety of citizens. As long as the SAPS continues to function as it currently does, there will be no trust in the state to effectively manage safety.”
