About 11 000 people have been arrested by police in the province since the launch of Operation Shanela last month.
Day-to-day policing has also seen the recovery of 339 firearms and 4667 rounds of ammunition for the past month.
Operation Shanela was launched in the province on August 19, paving the way for a wave of police operations, stop-and-searches as well as timed vehicle check-points identified as hot spots in the province.
SAPS spokesman Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the operations generally gained momentum from Thursdays to Mondays and that their sole purpose was maintaining peace, law and order and to ensure that the residents of KwaZulu-Natal were – and felt – safe.
He said of the almost 11 000 suspects arrested, 3 295 of them had been nabbed in connection with contact crimes. Two hundred and forty one of them were arrested for murder, while 140 had been arrested in connection with cases of attempted murder.
Cases of assault have been ever increasing in the recent past and police’s efforts to arrest the escalation of such crimes resulted in the capture of 2 106 suspects for this category of crime, with 1 506 suspects nabbed for assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, and 209 suspects arrested for various categories of robbery.
“The fight against violence perpetrated against women and children was also intensified and 266 suspects were arrested for rape. A total of 1757 suspects were locked up for drug-related crimes and a large quantity of various drugs was seized, while 765 persons were arrested for illegal dealing in liquor,” said Colonel Netshiunda.
He said proactive policing also resulted in the recovery of dangerous weapons, 530 of them being knives.
“Police will remain relentless in a fight against crime and community members are urged to continue providing the police with valuable information that often lead to the arrest of suspects and the attainment of justice,” said Colonel Netshiunda.