Chairperson of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s (GPL) Portfolio Committee on Community Safety, Sochayile Khanyile on Tuesday said that murder in the province had increased by 4.7 percent in 2015/16.
“The Committee has noted that since the financial year 2012/13 incidents of murder increased by 29 percent in Gauteng. In the 2015/16 the province recorded a further 4.7 percent increase in murder incidents. The increase is a serious cause for concern for the Committee, as it paints a picture that Gauteng residents are not safe in the Province,” he said.
Khanyile expressed his concern about the rise of murder cases in Gauteng during a committee briefing by Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant-General Deliwe de Lange on the 2015/16 Crime Statistics in the Province.
More intervention programs needed to be implemented in areas where these incidents where more prevalent, he said.
“The fight against crime requires the involvement of all key role players and meaningful community participation,” Khanyile said.
“And although crimes such as house robberies and sexual offences recorded a decrease in the 2015/16 financial year, the Committee still remains concerned.”
During the financial year under review incidents of house robberies decreased by 3.4 percent compared to the 2014/15 financial year, and sexual offences were reported to have decreased by four percent when compared to the previous year.
Khanyile said the Committee had a mandate of conducting oversight over law enforcement agencies in the province and was determined to see a reduction in crime in order to ensure the safety of Gauteng residents.
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