Safety of Ekurhuleni residents under siege as murder, sexual offences and hijackings increases
The lives and livelihoods of the residents of the City of Ekurhuleni are at high risk following the recently released crime statistics by the Minister of Police, Bheki Cele.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned that Ekurhuleni police stations had the most reported cases in these increased crimes nationally; specifically with regards to violent crime, including murder (13.6%), sexual offences (11%), attempted murder (19.4%) and truck hijackings (36.8%.).
Most crimes in South Africa like murder, violent crimes, sexual offences, attempted murder, and hijacking have bounced back to and exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels.
However, Gauteng SAPS has been losing ground in the battle against crime, as the lackluster leadership of the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko and Minister of Police, Bheki Cele continues.
The sharp upward trajectory in crime shows a clear indication that police stations still have a mammoth task of combatting crime on their hands. The list below shows the police stations that reported most a crime nationally:
• Tembisa ranking 4th for contact crimes,
• Tsakane and Tembisa ranking 10th and 12th for rape,
• Tembisa and Springs ranking 3rd and 17th for Trio crimes,
• Tembisa and Germiston ranking 11th and 29th for carjacking,
• Tembisa and Springs ranking 4th and 14th for robbery at residential premises,
• Brakpan, Kempton Park, Springs, Germiston, and Boksburg North are on the top 30 for robbery at non-residential premises,
• Boksburg North, Kempton Park, Alberton, Bedfordview, Germiston and Boksburg ranked in the top 30 in South Africa for truck hijacking,
• Tembisa, Boksburg North, Kempton Park, and Germiston in top 30 for kidnapping,
• Benoni and Kempton Park 28th and 29th for property-related crimes.
Tembisa, Springs, Kempton Park, Germiston, and Boksburg North are some of the police stations that have come up a number of times for all the wrong reasons.
During the #DAGautengPoliceWatch campaign, the DA observed shortages of personnel, training, and vehicles at many of Ekurhuleni’s hardest-hit stations.
It is of the utmost importance that SAPS has all the means at its disposal to combat crime, particularly in these areas that are hardest hit. The DA demands that MEC Mazibuko must urgently intensify all efforts to deal with the high levels of crime facing the residents of Ekurhuleni. We will continue to fight to ensure that all our police stations across the province are adequately equipped to ensure the safety of our residents.
By Ruhan Robinson MPL – DA Spokesperson for Community Safety
