PRETORIA, Nov 30 (NNN-SANEWS) — Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili of the South African Police Service assured South Africans that with an additional 3,558 newly trained police officers on the ground, SAPS will be working hard to ensure everyone is safe during the festive season.
“We have indeed entered a period of heightened police operations to ensure that people are and feel safe this festive season,” she said.
Acting Police Minister, Prof Firoz Cachalia, welcomed the newly-qualified police constables who have completed their training at various SAPS academies in the country.
The SAPS has been actively deploying new constables to enhance crime-fighting capabilities and improve public safety. Some of the new constables were deployed at the Nasrec Expo Centre where the G20 Leaders’ Summit took place last weekend.
“It’s all hands on deck as the men and women in blue – working closely with other law enforcement agencies – continue to stamp the authority of the state in every corner of our country,” Mosikili said.
She was speaking at the release of Quarter 1 and 2 crime statistics in Pretoria this morning, which she painted a picture of a relentless fight to keep people safe.
“We are not where we want to be in terms of the numbers. We would surely like to see a further reduction of cases reported and detected as well as a lot more green graphs indicating a downward trend.
“Let’s all agree, that we are going somewhere, and we are feeling the difference through our weekly integrated multidisciplinary operations commonly known as Operation Shanela,” Mosikili said.
She said it was encouraging to note that between the first and second quarter which is the period covering 1 April up until 31 September 2025, 413,583 suspects were arrested.
“During the same period, 3,442 firearms were seized during the operations. As we are all aware, alcohol remains one of the driving factors behind a lot of contact crimes. It is worth noting that police closed and shut down 11,975 unlicensed liquor premises.”
Mosikili said throughout the country, in every province, criminals were feeling the full might of the law and that they did not have anywhere to hide.
“From the Western Cape to KwaZulu Natal and where we are today in Gauteng, police remain resolute and there is no turning back.
“In the Western Cape, where we have ongoing gang violence, 722 gangsters were arrested with 1,565 illegal firearms and more than 39,000 rounds of ammunition seized during the operations.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, five accused persons behind the Umlazi Glebelands hostel mass shooting in June 2023 where eight people died were each handed down eight life sentences and an additional 15 years in jail to each of the five accused,” she said. — NNN-SANEWS
