Police Minister Bheki Cele has announced that the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) will soon visit the Western Cape in response to police complaints that the majority of people arrested for GBV and femicide (GBVF) were released on bail only to commit other crimes.
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According to IOL, when SAPS presented their budget and annual performance plan to MPs, Cele stated that they had agreed to travel to the Western Cape to meet with the security cluster there.
He said, ‘In the last quarter, 4 552 people were arrested in the Western Cape for GBVF, and out of that, 4 050 are out on bail for GBVF.’
Cele also stated that 214 of the 270 people arrested with firearms were released on bail.
IOL reported that Cele said the question from NFP MP Munzoor Shaik Emam was ‘pregnant’ when it came to what it would take for SAPS to fight crime.
He claimed that special units, such as tactical response units and others, consumed less of the police budget than the public order policing unit (POP).
He reportedly stated that the POP was spending a significant amount of time fighting failures by sister departments, claiming that there are approximately 20 protests around the country for water, electricity and potholes almost every morning.
In response to questions about the officers’ working conditions, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola confirmed that metros and the private sector were poaching SAPS officers with better pay and benefits.
Masemola stated that they cannot compete with the private sector or other metros in terms of improving salaries and benefits; however, some of the officers who left SAPS for greener pastures did not always find the grass greener on the other side.
‘It is tough to compete with the private sector in certain instances,’ Masemola added.
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