Statement by the Minister of Police, Mr Senzo Mchunu on measures taken by the SAPS to deal with threats posed by extortion in the country

MEASURES TAKEN BY THE SAPS TO DEAL WITH THREATS POSED BY EXTORTION IN THE COUNTRY

Honorable Speaker,

1. We welcome this opportunity to make a statement to this House on threats posed by the current wave of extortions and other related crime in parts of the country.

2. The four Provinces viz, Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape and Eastern Cape, currently carry 73% of crime levels in South Africa, the gravity of these crimes alone including extortions is of serious concern to us over and above their concentration.

3. Extortion has been emerging overtime and has now reached levels where all communities in our country beyond the four Provinces indicated above, have become very angry, bitter and agitated, the pain has gone very deep. The mood expressed in communities is also reflective of statements that have been made in the house unanimously against these crimes in the short past.

4. Somewhere in the background the current socio economic conditions are militating against low crime levels and need to be addressed urgently by the House and the Executive.

5. The modus operandi of the perpetrators involved in these heinous acts is well[1]known. Most of them are individuals who do not want to work but rather choose to parade as armies of murderous parasites that must be fought and rejected by society as a whole. They are often heavily armed, operating in groups that instil fear and chaos. The relative “silence” of communities and low reporting is all due to these fears.

6. Police of course led by Police Ministry are hard at work fighting these crimes on daily basis.

I. Among recent operations is where suspects identified through intelligence as extortionists were confronted in Milnerton in Cape Town. Four suspects were fatally wounded in a shootout with police while fourwere admitted in hospital with wounds. In the Eastern Cape operations are underway and we are focusing in Mthatha and Nelson Mandela Bay on similar crimes including illegal occupation of buildings and stock theft among others. 12 cases have been reported on the hotline and investigations are underway. We are observing signs of resistance among criminals but police will prevail. We must also mention that we see shocking incidents of lowest morality where church services, funerals and other family related functions get disrupted by these extortionists. In Gauteng 3 criminals were arrested in Bronkospruit three weeks ago on activities related to extortions. Soweto is also a place that has received our attention in the incidents of extortion. In Mpumalanga, 3 arrests were recently made in cases of extortion and fighting over turf for the same purpose. In Free State the target of extortionists include pensioners and people who receive RAF. Generally there is more extortion going on than meet the eye. This requires more crime intelligence operations.

II. In the context of the above and the whole Government approach we have initiated signing of cooperative agreements with Provincial and Local Government with operational plans all seeking to intergrade our resources against crime. Currently the operational plan is being rolled out in Cape Town with its new 6 sub-districts. The model will be replicated in all Metros in the country. The operational plan will inclued CPFs and private security companies. The Eastern Cape and Nelson Mandela Bay have agreed on the operational plan and it is currently being rolled out we will be launching it soon. We are meeting the Gauteng Government on Thursday on the same programme, next will be KwaZulu Natal on the 19th &20th of this month.

III. We are also holding a series of meetings with Sister Departments on collaboration against crime as per the National Integrated CrimePrevention Strategy. This Friday we are meeting as the JCPs cluster to tighten up our act via better synergies

IV. The deadline for us to complete and adopt the National Policing Policy is the end of October this year. This will among others issues deal with Police Stations and other infrastructure based on norms and standards.

V. We believe Traditional Leaders and communities have a role to play and they will be engaged.

Thank you, Honorable Speaker.