Councillor’s Corner Unacceptable levels of violent crime

The KwaDukuza police precinct tops the list of rape cases, and also recorded the most cases.

According to the (recent) quarterly crime statistics released by the South African Police Service KwaDukuza Police Station appears among the 30 stations with the highest number of cases country wide. Another local station featuring prominently was the Tongaat Police Station.

The number of rape and murder cases reported across Ilembe region is a cause for concern.

KwaDukuza topped the list of rape cases followed by Umhlali, Sundumbili, Nyoni, Ndwedwe, and followed closely by Newark and Mandeni.

KwaDukuza also reported the most murder cases.

The latest being a businessman and just son being fatally shot by alleged armed robbers. Due to the swift response of the local security companies and SAPS an unconfirmed number of suspects were arrested, as they fled the business premises following the alleged robbery.

This incident occurred on a weekday in the central business district of KwaDukuza.

The son sustained a gunshot wound to the head and had to be airlifted to a Durban hospital for specialized medical care. Unfortunately he demised. The father is still in a critical condition having also sustained a gunshot wound to the arm. During a recent cabinet sitting gun violence was highlighted.

A cabinet statement afterwards said recent “heinous and cold blooded attacks” highlight the prevalence of gun violence and its impact on communities.

Cabinet has reassured that the SAPS is being strengthened to prevent crime. This includes putting more police in the streets and setting up specialized teams to focus on specific types of crime. As promised, South Africa will also use data-driven methods in a more sophisticated way to identify and target crime hotspots.

The SAPS is intensifying operations to detect and remove illegal firearms and ammunition from the hands of criminals.

As citizens we anticipate this and await with baited breath to see this unfold as too many innocent lives have been lost. Crime is spiralling out of control.

The Democratic Alliance is horrified by the latest crime statistics which reveal an increase in overall crime while violent crime remains unacceptable.

Cllr Kathleen Naidoo Ilembe Constituency Chairperson.