In his policy and budget speech, Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Pat Ngomane announced today [23 May 2017] that the province will have for the first time its own Ballistic Science Workshop and Chemistry Unit in the next few months.
This establishment will be based in White River and refurbishments to the identified building will commence next month.
This according to the MEC means that stolen and confiscated firearms and those suspected to have been used in criminal activities, will no longer be taken to Pretoria, but to White River. Also, DNA test analysis will be done in the Province. This will ensure speedily processing of criminal cases that will need scientific evidence in court.
“SAPS in the province will also ensure that there is capacity for effective detection and arrest of criminals involved in serious crimes such as Cash-in-Transit robberies and Trio Crimes. Recently, police have arrested four men including a 32 year old police constable for colluding with criminals, we applaud the police for the job well done,” he said.
He added also that SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma has identified 30 police stations that have the highest crime rate in the province. He said that these police stations will be supported and monitored to enhance service delivery.
“This is done also through the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the department where best performing police stations are awarded in an annual event called MEC’s Excellence Awards to encourage good performance and assist those which are not performing well.
“We also welcome the establishment of Sexual Offences Courts in the province which we believe will make the work of police officers easy as more cases would be concluded timeously. We will continue as a department to conduct campaigns and programmes aimed at educating women and children about their rights,” said Ngomane.
He added that the department has implemented a 365 days campaign against women and children abuse. Through this campaign, the department together with its stakeholders believe that the recent kidnappings and killings of women in the country will be put to an end.
He has urged community members to assist police to look for Lethabo Rakgajana, a 16 year old from Mmametlhake High School who disappeared on 30 April 2017.
“As a department, we believe that most crimes, including the escalating number of road crashes are caused by the usage of drugs and alcohol in the province. A Steering Committee has been established constituting of the department, Mpumalanga Liquor Authority and SAPS and ongoing measures have been put in place to ensure that owners of liquor outlets comply with all relevant legal prescripts.
“As we have identified the need to change the behavior of road users in order to win the fight against road crashes, we will continue to educate road users about the importance of road safety,” the MEC said.
He announced that during this financial year, the department is intending to procure more Moving Violation Recorders (MVR’s). They will be fitted in law enforcement vehicles and this is expected to curb moving violations such as barrier line overtaking and speeding, which leads to crashes.
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Issued by Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison
Enquiries: Joseph Mabuza
Tel: 013 766 1575
Mobile: 082 678 1450
E-mail: emabuza@mpg.gov.za