BRYAN PEARSON, Cape Town | Monday 3.10pm.
SENIOR ministers spearheading the government’s fight against crime warned on Monday of a new “ruthless and aggressive” approach towards criminals.
“The time for games is over,” new Safety and Security Minister Steve Tshwete told a media briefing in Cape Town, adding that police had early Monday conducted a sweep of crime flashpoints in the Western Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Tshwete, Justice Minister Penuell Maduna and Correctional Services Minister Ben Skosana told the media briefing they were committed to a coordinated approach to the problem, which would also involve civil society and the South African National Defence Force. Tshwete said Monday’s crackdown indicated the government’s “ruthless and aggressive” approach to the country’s crime problem, which according to official figures has an annual murder rate of some 20000 in a population of 42 million — one of the highest in the world outside a war zone.
He gave no further details of the operations, or the number of police or military personnel involved.
“We want to send a very strong signal,” he said. “Criminals are armed and ruthless. We are going to be just as ruthless in our approach.”
Maduna said he and his crime-fighting cabinet colleagues had held their first meeting on Friday, also attended by SANDF chief Siphiwe Nyanda and Intelligence Services Minister Joe Nhlanhla. The ministers were required to meet every two weeks, he added.
President Thabo Mbeki announced in parliament last week that part of the new crackdown on crime would involve increased police recruitment at all levels, the establishment of a specialised unit to deal with priority crimes such as murder, rape and armed robbery, and new anti-gun laws. Maduna told the briefing that to help in the fight against crime, bail legislation was being revised to ensure that those posing a danger to society were kept behind bars; better criminal investigation methods were being implemented; organised crime was being targetted and “very serious attention” was being paid to the problem of car hijacking.
Skosana said his department had begun erecting electric fences around prisons to minimise escapes, was offering better training to prisoners to allow them to be reintegrated into society, and was releasing on bail non-dangerous prisoners awaiting trial.