A confidential report compiled by the police investigative psychological unit warning that serial rape and murder investigations in Gauteng were in disarray was not intended for the public domain, a police spokesperson said on Wednesday.
“There is such a report, but it was intended for internal and operational matters and was not intended to be discussed in the public domain,” Colonel Vish Naidoo said.
“The fact that such a report was created is indicative of how serious the police take matters of serious crimes such as rape and murder. It is also an indication that police are on top of this crime category.”
He said the report was part of police efforts to improve “strategies”.
The Star on Wednesday reported that the confidential police report had lifted the lid on the extent of the problem in the province.
The document was written last month and listed about 160 active cases, mostly serial rape investigations, either unsolved or before the courts.
Attention was drawn to the cases through the DNA unit, which had been operating for the past three years. — Sapa