Police top brass have told the provincial legislature that they are actively applying the same strategies against kidnapping for ransom in the Western Cape that they have successfully used in Gauteng and elsewhere inland and are hopeful of success.
However, addressing the standing committee on police oversight and community safety, national police commissioner Fannie Masemola and acting provincial commissioner Albert Maqhashalala told the committee they were unable to be specific with their answers on the issues of kidnapping and child killings in the province.
They said this was because they had not received the committee’s amended invitation asking for an update on the issues.
Committee member Ferlon Christians (ACDP) asked how many people had been arrested, prosecuted and convicted for kidnappings, extortion and ransom, which he said provided criminals with money or reward for little or no effort.
Maqhashalala said: “I can say with certainty that there’s a large number of people that are in custody for kidnapping and extortion. We did not come prepared for those questions. So it is difficult to give the number, but I am certain there is a large number. There are also a large number of cases that are running in court.”
Committee chairperson Gillion Bosman (DA) had wanted the police to give an update on the police’s capacity to conduct investigations leading to convictions, specifically around kidnappings and child killings.
Bosman said: “Last week we had four children murdered and before that we had a total of 27 children in just this quarter.”
He said extortion and kidnapping in the Western Cape had spiked and they were happy for the police to speak generally about their investigative capacity to deal with the issue.
Masemola said: “Kidnapping has gripped the country at large of late for ransom. We seem to be getting it right upcountry and it is only here in the Western Cape that it is still problematic.”
He said they had now integrated law enforcement teams from the national, provincial and municipal spheres and were approaching the issue with an eye to achieving the same results with arrests in the Cape as up-country.
Masemola disclosed that on Thursday he had met with the provincial team for an update on the progress they had made with regard to kidnappings and said, “We hope to nip it in the bud.”
With regard to crimes against children, Masemola said the SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit which investigated such offences had the most successful conviction rate countrywide.
The SAPS attended a briefing about the processes to construct new police stations, and the day-to-day maintenance of stations.
Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen gave the committee, which he had chaired until his appointment as MEC in April, a rundown of his term in office so far.
