National Police Commissioner Kehla Sitole says they have a five-point plan to deal with the scourge of cash in transit heists. Sitole has briefed Parliament’s Police Committee on how SAPS is dealing with the problem.
Various stakeholders including the South African Reserve Bank, trade unions and the South African Banking Risk Centre are briefing the committee on strategies to curb cash-in-transit heists.
Sitole says, “Areas that we are going to focus on that is the Cash In Transit (CIT) plan. We have got a five pillar approach which is being developed, intelligence gathering, analysis and coordination. We have the proactive, preventative approach, the combating rapid reaction approach and lastly the communication.”
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More arrests
The number of suspects arrested for cash in transit heists has increased sharply. The SA Police Service’s Deputy Commissioner for Policing, Sehlahle Masemola, has stated this in Parliament.
Masemola says 13 arrests have been made recently in Gauteng and 13 in North West. He says arrests have also been made in Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Seven suspects were arrested this week for a heist on the Polokwane-Matlala road two weeks ago. Five suspects in a heist in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, earlier this month are due in court today.
BACSA willing to help root out heists
Business Against Crime South Africa (BACSA) says it’s willing to help government to root out cash in transit heists. BACSA is one of the stakeholders that are briefing Parliament’s Police Committee on how to tackle the scourge of cash in transit heists (CITs). Business Against Crime’s Acting CEO Billy Graham says CITs have a negative impact on the economy and the livelihood of South Africans.
“Chairperson and colleagues business against crime is willing and ready to work with government and the private sector in this fight against crime because we need and we understand that the efforts need to be stepped up. There are too many lives lost. The effect on the economy is just too large.
“The negative effect on employment is just unacceptable. And we need to work together to ensure that we stabilise this society in our country where people have employment and the economy can grow and our role is to wait for your request to assist you in this.”
