Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele together with National Commissioner, Fannie Masemola and his management team interacted with communities residing in the Northern suburbs of Gqeberha on their safety concerns on August 25, as the police ministry launched Operation Shanela in the Eastern Cape to tackle high crime levels and gangsterism.
While on the walk-about on the streets of Gelvandale and surrounding areas, Cele noted with concern the high number of children loitering around during school time.
“These areas need far more than law enforcement to make life better. It is very clear that the police alone won’t win the war on crime. The high number of children not going to school pushes them towards criminality and gangsterism,” said Cele.
“This is why we again make the call for the whole of government and whole society approach to fighting crime. We call on the government to descend here and all other areas with similar problems to address the drivers of crime by dealing with issues of education, human settlement, unemployment, and other socio-economic factors.”
Cele said that the SAPS remains on track in its intensified and aggressive response to crime.
He said that since the inception of Operation Shanela in May, over 100 000 suspects have been arrested for serious and violent crimes, including murder, rape, robbery, possession of firearms and drugs in South Africa.
“Around 10 000 of the arrests took place during operations in the Eastern Cape province,” said Cele.
