Cape Town - Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Reagen Allen, and provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile are set to release the crime statistics for the third quarter on Tuesday.
Allen said this engagement and briefing forms part of their department process to analyse the crime statistics in detail and the latest crime statistics paint a grim picture.
“Immediate intervention is required, and we have to consider alternative and best practise options in combating crime.
“As the Western Cape government we remain committed to working with all law-abiding stakeholders to fight crime in its entirety,” Allen said.
Meanwhile, Police Minister Bheki Cele released the national crime statistics for the period October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, on Friday.
The stats show that there were 1 198 murders recorded in the Western Cape – 142 (13.4%) more cases than the same period in the previous year.
The stats further show that the ongoing gang violence, which resulted in 229 murders (19%), along with the combined category of arguments, misunderstanding, road rage, provocation, which account for 19.9% of murders, are the major contributors to the murder rate in the Western Cape.
Allen said that while the report paints a grim picture and is gut-wrenching, “it presents us with an opportunity to take stock and review our methodologies and the impact thereof”.
“While I am still deeply concerned, I am encouraged by the decrease in Khayelitsha, particularly since the area has been plagued by mass killings.
“It is clear that criminal elements are monitoring and studying our operations in order to adapt their illicit activities. We will be convening an urgent engagement with relevant stakeholders to interrogate these results,” Allen added.
IOL