Outgoing City of Johannesburg Mayor, Herman Mashaba has encouraged the public to support the Johannesburg Metro Police Department officers who have suffered attacks in full view of the public.
Mashaba made the appeal on 1 November when he joined JMPD and MMC for Public Safety, councillor Michael Sun, as they released the September performance statistics pertaining to crime, by-law enforcement and traffic infringement in the city.
“As MMC Sun highlighted today, we would like to encourage residents to support our JMPD officers who work hard, to ensure their safety every day. It is shocking to see certain actions taken by the very people JMPD is meant to protect, as was seen in a recent video clip that went viral, showing bystanders cheering as a JMPD officer was attacked. This culture must not be allowed to continue,” he warned.
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“Our JMPD offers are often ridiculed and insulted by some on social media, and this kind of behaviour, too, degenerates our morale in building a united and safe society, and must be condemned,” he explained.
Mashaba went on to detail the monthly crime stats, which he said the City started to reveal a year ago as a commitment to the residents to keep them informed as to how the JMPD allocates its limited resources in order to combat crime and lawlessness.
“The monthly statistics have also been to the benefit of our own members, who can reflect on progress made and are able to identify where more work is needed,” he cited.
Stats for drunk and driving
“Drunk driving operations remain in full force as the number of arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol reached 1 033 across the regions, compared to August’s record 1 101 arrests. Furthermore, the Accident Unit recorded 26 pedestrian and 11 driver fatalities on our roads in September 2019.”
With the release of the September 2019 statistics, the JMPD also took a look at its performance statistics for the first quarter of the 2019/ 20 financial year. “Considering this, the total number of arrests for drunken driving is at 2 924 for the quarter,” he said.
As a solution to the problem, Mashaba said, “The JMPD has bolstered operations across the city and continues to allocate resources to areas like Lenasia where seven (7) land invasion operations were conducted”.
“The Special Patrol Unit, which recently received 40 additional high-performance vehicles, was able to achieve a major increase in issued citations from 540 in August 2019 to 928 in September 2019.”
Stats on Crime
Mashaba said the K9 Narcotics and Tactical Unit recovered an impressive 525 units of ammunition, compared to 145 in August 2019.
“The newly created Integrated Intelligence Operation Centre (IIOC) Unit, focusing on inner-city crime through CCTV monitoring, has made 145 arrests in the first quarter. This unit has now also been tasked with responding to illegal dumping and has already impounded 32 vehicles. So far fines of R10 000 each have been paid for 13 vehicles.”
In terms of arrests for the Top 6 crime types across all regions, excluding drunk driving, the JMPD in September made:
1. 24 for hijacked or stolen motor vehicles (35 in August)
2. 14 for possession of unlicensed firearms (34 in August)
3. 26 for common robbery (13 in August)
4. 11 for assault (12 in August)
5. five for stolen goods (11 in August)
6. seven for possession of drugs (10 in August)
“I look forward to the introduction of 800 new JMPD officers, who have been undergoing training, before the end of the year. The remainder will join the JMPD at the beginning of next year,” he said.
“With a strengthened force and a simple and clear objective to stop crime and enforce the law, the City of Johannesburg is turning the tide against crime. We need zero-tolerance policing, and to deal decisively with offenders. Restoring the rule of law must be a priority for all of us,” he concluded.
