News snippets from around the world

Drugs and alcohol abuse rage in crime stats

In a single day, 105 people reported being raped, and the murder rate sits at 55 per day, according to South Africa’s latest police crime statistics, released last week. Other findings were that in the first three months of the year 9 518 people were raped and 4 976 murdered. Many victims of murder and rape knew their attackers. Reported assault cases have decreased from about 41 000 in the first quarter of 2020 to 36 000 in January to March 2021. Substance abuse has emerged as a reason for the spike in crimes during the first quarter of 2021. Police Minister Bheki Cele began his address by lamenting the death of 24 police officers, eleven of whom were killed while on duty.

(Source: mg.co.za)

SARS, NPA join forces to combat tax crime

The organisations announced in a joint statement that SARS (SA Revenue Service) commissioner Edward Kieswetter and NPA (National Prosecuting Authority) boss Shamila Batohi had agreed to further enhance their collaboration on non-compliance by employers. SARS and the NPA are joining forces to combat tax crime and non-compliance with tax laws, which they said erode both revenue and the integrity of the tax system. Some employers deduct PAYE (Pay As You Earn) but never turn those taxes over to SARS – as well as other general corrupt activities.

(Source: ewn.co.za)

Magashule wants court bid heard urgently

Suspended Afriw National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Ace Magashule has called for his court bid against the ANC to be heard on an urgent basis citing fears of intra-party violence if there’s a delay. In court papers filed to the Johannesburg High Court, and seen by Eyewitness News, President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC Deputy SecretaryGeneral Jesse Duarte have also been cited as respondents in addition to the governing party. Magashule wants the court to enforce a suspension letter he issued to the governing party’s president, for his suspension and the step-aside resolution to be declared unlawful and to return to Luthuli House to manage the affairs of the ANC.

(Source: ewn.co.za)

With violent crime spiking, the push for police reform collides with voters’ fears

One of the top candidates for mayor of New York is a former police captain who has said that addressing the city’s surging violent crime rate will be his highest priority. It has been less than a year since George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, spawning a national movement to reimagine the American criminal justice system and end race-based abuses. Yet, with shootings spiking in cities nationwide during the pandemic, there are growing signs that the thirst for change is being blunted by fears of runaway crime.

(Source: www.washingtonpost.com)

Alleged crime boss Modack charged with ordering hit on Detective Kinnear

Alleged crime underworld figure Nafiz Modack has been charged with allegedly ordering the assassination of Anti-Gang Unit detective Charl Kinnear. Modack appeared at the Blue Downs Regional Court last Friday morning alongside four co-accused – among them an Anti-Gang Unit Member. Modack – along with Ricardo Morgan – also faces charges for their alleged role in the attempted hit on defence attorney William Booth. Nafiz Modack now joins Zane Kilian as the accused charged in connection with the September murder of Kinnear. They face over sixty charges.

(Source: ewn.co.za)

UK police brace for rise in knife crime as lockdown restrictions lifted

UK police are expecting an increase in knife crime and violence this summer as lockdown restrictions are lifted. Detectives fear spats between gangs will be settled on the streets as crowds return and pubs fully reopen, despite ONS (Office for National Statistics) figures showing recorded knife crime dropped nine per cent across England and Wales in 2020. The ONS said that the ‘majority’ of fluctuations in crime rates for last year were due to fewer people being on the streets during extended periods of lockdown.

(Source: www.express.co.uk)

Phase 2 of South Africa’s vaccine rollout already hitting roadblocks

South Africa’s vaccine rollout programme is struggling to get off the ground, despite plans for its start on Monday, 17 May. According to the City Press, the programme has experienced low registration rates in the target group – those aged 60 and over, or with comorbidities – while those who have registered have not yet received any information on what to do. The second phase of the rollout was scheduled to begin on Monday 17 May, with the government targeting approximately 16.6 million vaccinations over six months, or 100,000 vaccinations each day.

(Source: businesstech.co.za)

Ireland shut down health IT system after ransomware attack

Ireland’s health authority said last Friday that it had shut down its computer systems after experiencing a ‘significant ransomware attack’, a week after the largest US fuel pipeline network was also targeted. The Irish attack was blamed on international criminals and was said to be targeting healthcare records. Government minister Ossian Smyth told the state broadcaster that it was “possibly the most significant cybercrime attack on the Irish State,” calling it an “international attack” but “not espionage”. “These are cybercriminal gangs, looking for money,” he told Ireland’s state broadcaster.

(Source: ewn.co.za)

Car jamming theft on the rise in South Africa – and insurance companies won’t always pay

Insurance brokerage and risk advisors, Aon South Africa, says that South Africans should be aware of unexpected insurance costs when dealing with car theft. “The best advice is to mitigate your risk as far as possible with correctly scoped insurance and advice, deploying security measures to deter would-be criminals, strictly adhere to road safety rules and to drive defensively,” said Mandy Barrett, of Aon South Africa. One key issue raised by the group relates to car jamming, which is seen as a growing trend in South Africa – especially in public parking lots such as shopping centres and petrol stations. Car jamming occurs when a criminal uses signalblocking technology which effectively blocks a vehicle from locking properly. This is because South African motorists often walk away from their cars while pressing their remote without ensuring that their vehicles are physically locked.

(Source: businesstech.co.za)

South Africa’s Central Firearms Registry a complete mess

South Africa’s Central Firearms Registry (CFR) needs to move into the twenty first century with urgency and take the entire firearms application process online. This is the view of the DA’s Shadow Minister of Police Andrew Whitfield, who said during an oversight visit by Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Police to the CFR this weekend, it became clear that it is dysfunctional and cannot fulfil its mandate. Photos posted on social media about the dire state of the CFR include files piled up in corridors on every floor due to a lack of space; the poor use of IT systems; staff shortages and a building which has been declared unsafe.

(www.mybroadband.co.za)

Without a legal team, Zuma’s defence strategy in corruption trial is unclear

The trial against former President Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales was due to begin in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on 17 May 2021. Zuma and Thales face corruption, racketeering and money laundering charges linked to the arms deal. However, with uncertainty over Zuma’s legal representation, some legal experts say that the matter could be postponed once more.

(Source: ewn.co.za)

Deadlock continues between government, unions in public service salary dispute

The government and unions representing public servants will attempt to resolve their salary dispute over two parallel processes in the next month. The Public Servants Association (PSA) and the SA Policing Union (SAPU) have declared a dispute with the government at the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC). Trade union federation Cosatu this week slammed the government and economists for pushing for a freeze of public servants’ salaries. The country’s biggest federation described the government’s delay in improving its 0% offer to its employees as insulting.

(Source: www.grocotts.co.za)

No increases for ministers, deputy ministers, premiers as salaries frozen

High-ranking political office bearers take home the same salaries this year, for the third year in a row. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed off and gazetted the salaries this week.

(Source: www.sowetanlive.co.za)

Khayelitsha mass shootings update

At least 24 Somali shopkeepers and owners have been killed since January, according to the Somali Community Board of South Africa, which blames police inaction for the unabated extortion of foreign-owned businesses and killings in the townships. The group was commenting after twelve people were killed in Site B, Khayelitsha, in suspected gang shootings linked to “protection fees” last Saturday.

(Source: www.iol.co.za)

SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter will not tolerate political interference

SA Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Edward Kieswetter has pledged to resign from his position rather than allow political interference in the affairs of the tax revenue service. Kieswetter made the undertaking in parliament last Wednesday, at a standing committee on finance meeting, where he presented the SARS annual performance plan for 2021/2022. DA MP Geordin Hill-Lewis had challenged Kieswetter at the meeting to assure the public that SARS would go after any employer who deducted pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) from employees but failed to pay it over to the taxman – a criminal offence in terms of the Income Tax Act.

(Source: www.sowetanlive.co.za)

Maputo asks Johannesburg High Court to order South Africa to extradite former Mozambican finance minister

The Mozambican government has l aunched an application in the Johannesburg High Court for an order compelling Justice Minister Ronald Lamola to extradite former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang ‘without further delay.’ Maputo complains that South Africa has violated Chang’s right to justice by holding him in prison for nearly 29 months awaiting extradition either back to Mozambique or to the US to face corruption and fraud charges arising from a $2-billion loan scam in Mozambique in 2013 and 2014.

(Source: www.msn.com)

Dintwe on corruption and nepotism in state security

Dr Setlhomamaru Dintwe, the InspectorGeneral of Intelligence, appeared before the Zondo Commission on 5 May to continue with his State Security Agency (SSA) related evidence. The three arms of state security – Intelligence, Crime Intelligence (CI) and the SSA – fall within his oversight purview. When he first appeared before the commission on 20 April, he alleged that the ministers of police, defence and state security had attempted to prevent him from testifying, for the reason that he hadn’t consulted with them first.

(Source: www.moneyweb.co.za)

FILE - People hold pictures of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was slain in October 2017, as they protest in Valletta, Malta, Nov. 29, 2019.

How the global network of journalists helps expose organised crime

Before she was murdered in 2017, Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was investigating two companies named in the Panama Papers – a leak of millions of records that exposed corruption in offshore finance. Caruana Galizia, a harsh critic of the government in her Running Commentary blog, uncovered apparent trails between Malta and overseas companies that she suspected were tied to top Malta politicians. But she never had the chance to finish her reporting. In October 2017, the journalist was killed by a car bomb. One of three men accused of carrying out her murder has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison. His alleged accomplices have pleaded not guilty. A fourth man, businessman Yorgen Fenech, was charged with organising and financing the murder. He denies the charge.

(Source: www.voanews.com)

REUTERS Factbox: the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the IsraeliPalestinian conflict

Individuals involved in a new eruption of Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed may be targeted by an International Criminal Court investigation, now under way, into alleged war crimes in earlier bouts of the conflict, its top prosecutor said in an interview.

(Source: www.reuters.com)

Security guards vs police officers in South Africa

The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) has published its annual performance plan for 2021/2022, showing a steep increase in the number of security officers in South Africa over the last decade. The report shows that there are now over 2.5 million registered security officers across the country, of which over 556,000 are active. These officers are employed by just over 10,380 registered and active security businesses. “The number of active employed security officers has increased by 42% since 2010, while the number of security businesses has increased by 45%,” PSIRA said.

(Source: businesstech.co.za)