Media Statement: Police Committee Chairperson says Increase in Mass Killings Highlights Inadequacies with Crime Intelligence

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Ian Cameron, is concerned by the continued increase in mass murders in South Africa, which highlights inadequacies within the South African Police’s Crime Intelligence unit. The Chairperson’s comments follow the two recent mass killings in the Western Cape, where seven people were killed in Bishop Lavis on Thursday and five people were killed in Atlantis.

“The increase in mass killings in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape point to the need to capacitate the crime intelligence services both with funding and human capital that will enable the unit to proactively prevent these crimes from happening. The committee has consistently stressed the need to properly capacitate the intelligence and detective units as they are potent tools that can be used in the fight against crime,” Mr Cameron said.

Also, the committee has reiterated the need for collaboration with provincial and local governments to ensure that these spheres put in place focused strategies to deal with emerging crime trends in their communities. “It is for this reason that we wholeheartedly welcomed the intentions of the Draft National Policing Policy, which highlighted the importance of collaboration, and these murders provide an opportunity to share investigative capacity. Also, the formation and training of specialised units to tackle crimes like gang violence in the Western Cape should be considered,” Mr Cameron said.

The Chairperson said the increase in mass murders provides an opportunity to implement several Safer Cities initiatives, which were signed between the SAPS and provincial and local governments. “The signed agreement has established the necessary framework to fight crime. It is now time to activate the plans and ensure that criminality is confronted head-on,” the Chairperson said.

Mr Cameron also called for the SAPS to leave no stone unturned in investigating these mass shootings and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.