The KZN provincial government plans to recruit 1000 social crime prevention volunteers to fight crime. Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube said police capacity has increased to a total of over 4 000 new police officers received in the past two years.
The Premier of KwaZulu-Natal Ms Nomusa Dube-Ncube said they are determined to crack down on crime and in a bid to strengthen the fight against crime the provincial government plans to recruit 1000 social crime prevention volunteers who will be deployed throughout the province.
Ms Dube-Ncube, made the announcement when she was delivering the State of the Province Address (SOPA) in Pietermaritzburg recently.
Highlighting some of the provincial government’s initiatives aimed at fighting crime in communities, Ms Dube-Ncube said police capacity had over the past four years been augmented by new members with a total of more than 4 000 new police officers over the past two years.
She also added that the Department of Community Safety and Liaison would, in the 2024/25 financial year, establish a Community Safety Intervention Unit (CSIU) which would work with other law enforcement agencies as a force multiplier, proactively and reactively fighting crime in communities.
“The SAPS has also announced significant improvements in the allocation of resources with more vehicles and trainee constables being made available in KwaZulu-Natal,” said the premier.
“The Department of Community Safety and Liaison has bought 60 safety patrol cars that will be used by the Community Safety Committees and Community Police Forums to complement the work of the police.”
Ms Dube-Ncube said on cross border crime the province is pursuing diplomatic channels to ensure that South Africans’ properties that are illegally stuck in sister countries are returned to their rightful owners.
“In this regard, we met with the Mozambican High Commissioner to South Africa last year to discuss this matter. We have installed jersey barriers at exit points to make it difficult for stolen vehicles to cross into Mozambique,” Ms Dube-Ncube said.
The provincial government is working closely with the SAPS’ Specialised KZN Stabilising Team to address issues of criminality in and around the Manguzi area, she added. The premier said the interventions have resulted in the arrest of several highly sought after criminals, who are currently facing justice.
“When we visited Manguzi late last year with Police Minister Bheki Cele, this special team had arrested 103 suspects, four of them have been convicted. Fifty-six dockets were in court, 193 motor vehicles had been identified of which 63 had been handed back to the owners. There are 42 cases still under investigation,” the premier said.