In a bid to strengthen the fight against crime, corruption and lawlessness, Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi has moved the Department of Community Safety to, the Office of the Premier.
“The fight against crime is going to be the centre of the 7 administration. We are migrating this responsibility to the Office of the Premier so that we can lead and champion the fight against crime, corruption and lawlessness, said Premier Lesufi when he announced the Gauteng Members of the Executive Council recently.
He said the 7 administration’s agenda is to protect the weak, the poor and vulnerable members of society and that would be best executed when led from the Office of the Premier.
“We strongly believe that the utilisation of creative ways of technology, innovation and the increase of personnel to fight crime in our province must be a priority. If there is one priority for the 7 administration and the government of Gauteng in the next five years, it’s our relentless efforts to confront and fight crime head on,” he said.
Earlier this year, the provincial government launched the Gauteng ePanic Button in Sebokeng. The ePanic Button project is one of the Gauteng Provincial Government’s initiatives that ensures a timeous response, from law enforcement agencies and security companies, on crime incidences reported.
In addition, Gauteng government has been deploying advanced technologies, including high-quality CCTV cameras capable of recognising facial features in key community areas.
To date, a total of 144 CCTV cameras have been installed in high-crime areas across the province. The cameras have been used to monitor crime hotspots. To complement existing CCTV cameras, the provincial government will add 10 000 cameras (6000 from Vuma Intel, and 4000 from SANRAL) during current (2024-2025) financial year.
The province further introduced and employed thousands of Gauteng Traffic Wardens. The wardens have received extensive basic training. Some were trained by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) at its military base. The wardens are deployed on a 24/7 shift basis in different wards and crime hotspots under the supervision of SAPS, Gauteng Traffic and Metro Police Departments.
Through targeted deployments, the wardens enhance and complement the work of law enforcement officials across the province, and this accelerates our fight against crime, corruption, lawlessness and vandalism. Some of the Gauteng Traffic Wardens have been trained on fire-arm competence, crowd control, while others are part of the anti-land invasion and infrastructure vandalism and others as drone pilots.
The Premier said the provincial government was committed to building a better Gauteng. A Gauteng that will make every resident proud. A Gauteng that will fight crime, corruption and lawlessness mercilessly.
“Our mandate is simple, crime, corruption, and lawlessness your time is up,” the Premier reiterated.
SOURCED FROM THE GPG WEBSITE.
