The SA Police Service (SAPS) and crime intelligence agencies will within the next week convene a meeting to finalise a government-wide plan to deal with crime, including increasing incidents of extortion that threaten the viability of the construction sector.
Deputy president Paul Mashatile, who chairs the justice, crime prevention and security cluster in the cabinet, said the plan would possibly involve the state injecting more financial resources into crime intelligence.
The lack of adequate crime intelligence has been identified by police minister Senzo Mchunu as an issue behind the crisis of extortion rackets.
“We don’t want to put more boots on the ground [but] they go in the dark. We have already discussed [this], saying we are going to put a lot of resources behind crime intelligence,” Mashatile told MPs on Thursday. “The comprehensive plan that we are finalising next Thursday will look at this matter.”
Incidents of extortion have increased, and the police have identified the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape as hotspots.
Recent incidents include the murder of a school principal in KwaBhaca in the Eastern Cape last week by a gunman allegedly demanding payment. In a separate incident, thugs stormed the home of a nurse from the Efata School for the Blind in Mthatha and demanded payment of R50,000. The nurse refused and was robbed of his phone, laptop and television.
In the Western Cape, an informal trader from Kraaifontein was shot dead a week ago in a suspected extortion-related murder.
“Top-class detective and crime intelligence work must be intensified to produce airtight prosecutions and see these crime bosses evicted, locked up and their proceeds of crime seized,” Mashatile said.
“The challenge remains that the actual number of crimes committed by these mafias may be underreported, as witnesses and victims are often reluctant to come forward... The impact of these construction mafias on our nation’s development cannot be underestimated.
“The existence and activities of construction mafias significantly undermine the concept of a developmental state as envisioned in the National Development Plan 2030. These criminal organisations pose serious threats to public safety and the integrity of construction projects, which are essential for driving economic growth and development.”
Police data released this week shows that in the first quarter of 2024 there were 3,494 kidnapping incidents, of which 135 were ransom demands (with Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal accounting for 81 and 15 cases), 30 were extortion-related incidents and eight were human trafficking.
The data show that 6,198 murders, 11,566 sexual offences and 9,309 rapes occurred in the first quarter of 2024.
A total of 6,867 attempted murders, 42,858 common assaults, 11,312 common robberies, 5,438 carjackings and truck hijackings, and 429 cash-in-transit heists occurred during the period under review.
With Luyolo Mketane
Update: September 5 2024
This article has been updated with new information throughout.
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