About 1 500 police officials from the SA police head office took to the streets of Gauteng on Saturday led by police National Commissioner General Bheki Cele.
Cele led his officials in conducting “Operation Squeeze”, a campaign aimed at “squeezing out crime” by tackling police priority areas, Brigadier Sally de Beer said in a statement.
The campaign, which kicked-off on Friday night in the North West, also aims to address criminal activities such as illegal liquor sales, drug dealing, illegal possession of firearms and tracking wanted criminals.
Cele resumed the operation on Saturday morning in Benoni, Ekurhuleni, where 4 822 firearms seized or surrendered in the North West were destroyed.
He then led his team in joining police officers in operations in Ekurhuleni and Soweto. They later proceeded to Maponya Mall to greet consumers.
About 1 115 head office members have been deployed in Gauteng while 477 were in the North West.
Cele emphasised the need for police managers to interact with communities and have a hands-on approach in fighting crime.
“I am very impressed with the enthusiasm with which head office personnel, some of them operational and many — including lawyers, forensic analysts and accountants — not normally operational, have tackled these extraordinary duties over a long weekend,” he said.
“The morale is high and I expect similar exercises to be repeated during the year, not only by national head office members, but by provincial police management in all provinces,” he said. – Sapa