Police Minister Bheki Cele says he is adding 10 000 more police officers to ensure that there is zero tolerance when it comes to crime this festive season.
Cele was addressing members of the media in Pretoria where he touched on a number of issues. He says the newly appointed officers will be deployed in crime hotspots across all nine provinces.
“For this holiday and beyond, the SAPS will be stronger as we welcome in the police, 10 000 new more officers. The 2023 recruitment process is a direct response to the call by his excellency President Cyril Ramaphosa to strengthen our policing capacity and enhance police visibility.”
Cele’s briefing below:
With many holidaymakers leaving and entering the Republic, authorities are on high alert for illegal persons entering the country.
In the last week, police intercepted a bus in Northern Cape with 14 undocumented children.
“On Wednesday, a multidisciplinary team from Kimberley intercepted a bus that was travelling from Pretoria to Cape Town with 14 undocumented children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. Police were alerted to this incident by a vigilant passenger who suspected the children were being trafficked. Two Zimbabwean nationals were arrested and have already appeared before the Kimberley magistrate court on a charge of trafficking of persons. In Gauteng, 33 human trafficking victims who were found locked up in a room in Benoni were rescued in the past week, this took place when police were tracing a kidnapped foreign national, when the 33 men were discovered, one suspect has been arrested,” highlights Cele.
The Safer Festive Season police operations are expected to work concurrently with the Operation Shanela across all provinces to ensure a safe festive season.
