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The Portfolio Committee on Police has called on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to intensify its efforts to proactively deal with armed robberies at retail premises and of cash-in-transit trucks around the country.

The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee, Mr Francois Beukman, said this while expressing concern about the spate of cash-in-transit heists in Mpumalanga and Eastern Cape, as well as armed robberies at retail premises around the country.

The Committee believes these criminal acts could be reduced if the Crime Intelligence division of SAPS commissioned effective, proactive network operations and projects that will intercept the plans of syndicates involved in these robberies.

“We need to see good detective and intelligence-driven work to apprehend the perpetrators of these crimes and work towards a situation where criminals are prevented from carrying out these crimes,” Mr Beukman said.

The Committee believes these heinous crimes are fuelled by the circulation of stolen and illegal firearms. To deal with this concerning trend, the Committee wants to see an increase in interventions to remove illegal guns from the streets.

Furthermore, the Committee will call the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI/Hawks) to Parliament on 15 August 2017 for a briefing on the progress made with the establishment of the unit responsible for the fight against illegal firearms.

The Committee is deeply concerned that employees and clients have been injured and killed during criminal incidents at retailers.

The Visible Policing Division is another unit of SAPS that is critical in the reduction of these incidents. This division should implement proactive plans at cluster level and ensure adequate policing at retail outlets.

The Committee further calls for better cooperation between SAPS and business owners to mitigate any risks that could encourage these kinds of criminal activities.

Mr Beukman will visit the Wellington police station outside Cape Town tomorrow (Thursday, 27 July 2017 at 09:00). Wellington was recently in the news for an armed robbery that led to the killing of a shop owner in the business district and an attack on a shopper at a shopping mall. Mr Beukman will also meet with the community policing forum and other role-players in the Wellington area.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee of Police, Francois Beukman