Iron Fist for July to December 2006
2 February 2007
1. Introduction
At the beginning of July last year, I publicly announced the launch of a
six-month (from July to December 2006), high-intensity police operation called
Operation Iron Fist. The purpose of this operation was to address what I then
publicly stated was a spike in certain crimes in Gauteng. I had become aware of
this situation through the monitoring of policing by my department, as well as
my own interactions with various communities throughout the province.
So I met with the South African Police Service (SAPS) Provincial
Commissioner and his management team and asked them to develop a specific
operational plan to address the increases in some of the crime categories. In
particular, it was highlighted that certain objectives relating to police
visibility and performance should be included in the plan and that certain
crimes should be prioritised.
I must make it clear that as a Member of the Executive Council of the
Gauteng Provincial Government, I have no direct managerial authority over the
police. The SAPS is a national organisation that is resourced nationally.
However, as an elected member of a provincial government with the
responsibility for community safety, I am responsible for expressing the safety
concerns of the public to the police and requesting that the police respond to
these concerns. My department monitors and evaluates the effectiveness of the
police's response to public concerns. In this way, we attempt to ensure that
the police are held accountable to the public.
In my 11 July 2006 statement I highlighted eight key performance objectives
that would characterise Operation Iron Fist. These following:
1. I said that the public could expect to see more police on our roads and
streets.
2. I said that the police would hold more roadblocks.
3. I said that the police would increase their efforts to track down and bring
the most wanted criminals to justice.
4. I said that the police would focus their deployment to tackle serious
crimes.
5. I said that efforts to remove and destroy illegal firearms would be stepped
up.
6. I said that efforts would be made to improve the service delivery from 10111
call centres.
7. I said that the police would improve safety on our trains.
8. I said that would be a focus on increase in community mobilisation against
crime.
The primary intention of the operation was to arrest the crime spike and
stabilise the situation in the short-term period of six months. I stated that
as part of Operation Iron Fist that the impact on the following specific crimes
would be monitored:
* vehicle hijacking
* cash-in-transit heists
* house robbery
* business robbery
* taxi violence
* residential burglary.
As I promised back in July, I am here today to provide the public with
feedback on the performance of the police during the operation, and the impact
of the Operation Iron Fist on community safety. This report is given at a time
of growing public concern about violent crime in our country. I am reporting
these findings knowing full well that a report that an analysis of crime
patterns across the province will not offer consolation to those who have been
robbed in their homes, families of those killed for a cellphone, women raped on
the way to work, those who have been hijacked at gun-point or an elderly person
assaulted on the way from a pension pay point.
Every effort has been made to guarantee the integrity and objectivity of
this assessment.
The Department's evaluation of Operation Iron Fist was based on information
from police performance management systems, crime statistics from the SAPS and
other sources. The department also conducted its own research, including a
public perception survey that was undertaken by an independent organisation.
The detailed facts and figures of how the police performed are contained in the
report that has been handed out with this statement.
2. Commitments of Operation Iron Fist
I will now present to you the main findings of the evaluation of police
performance against the specific objectives that I outlined in my July 2006
statement.
Objective 1: Increased mobilisation of police resources
This objective was to improve police visibility through increasing the
numbers of officers in the field. During the operation, the restructuring
process of the SAPS resulted in 3 000 police officers being deployed to
priority police stations. Furthermore, all officers, including administrative
staff were also expected to work overtime to support operations and 400 entry
level constables were deployed throughout the province. The results are as
follows:
During Operation Iron Fist an average of 237 reservists were recruited each
month. A total of 1 421 reservists were recruited by December. The training
curriculum for the reservists is being finalised following which the SAPS will
be in the position to embark on further recruitment campaigns.
The police also increased the number of vehicle patrols. During Operation
Iron Fist there was better co-ordination between the SAPS and the Metropolitan
Police Departments (MPDs). This meant that the police could focus their
resources within communities while the MPDs focused on the highways. There were
also targeted interventions at areas identified as 'hot-spots.' For example,
you may recall the problems experienced at the Rivonia off-ramp on the N1.
Police increased their patrols to improve safety in that area.
There was also a 24% increase in the numbers of vehicles searched and an
increase of 47% in the numbers of people searched during Operation Iron Fist
when compared to the first 6 months of 2006. This meant that a total of 698 555
vehicles and a total of 1 705 235 people were searched during the
operation.
(More details can be found on pages 3 and 4 of the evaluation report)
Objective 2: Increased roadblocks
A total of 10 727 roadblocks (an average of 1 788 per month) was held during
the operation. This was 3 043 more roadblocks than was held during the first
six months of 2006 (a 40% increase).
(More details can be found on page 5 of the evaluation report)
Objective 3: Targeting key wanted suspects
A total of 4 416 suspect raids were undertaken during the operation. This
resulted in 1 638 more suspect raids (an increase of 59%) than were carried out
during the first half of 2006.
Apart from other arrests made during the above raids, a total of 224
suspects who were on Gauteng's 'most wanted' list at the start of Operation
Iron Fist, were arrested.
(More details can be found on page 5 of the evaluation report)
Objective 4: The targeted deployment of the police against serious crime
The police arrested a total of 218 572 people during the operational period
for all offences. This resulted in 10 471 more people than was arrested in the
first six months of 2006 (a 5% increase).
During this operation, a total of 80 729 people were arrested for all
serious crimes. This is an increase of 9 767 arrests than was made during the
first six months of 2006 (a 14% increase).
(More details of the arrests for specific crimes can be found on pages 6 and
7 of the evaluation report)
Objective 5: Removing illegal firearms
Efforts to remove illegal firearms from our communities were stepped up as
is reflected in the increases in various police activities presented above
(i.e. suspect raids, roadblocks, search and seizures, etc). During Operation
Iron Fist, 8 324 firearms were recovered by the police. During November and
December 2006, a total of 102 751 firearms that had been recovered by the
police were destroyed. This is more than double the number of firearms than was
destroyed during 2005 (approximately 40 000 firearms destroyed).
Objective 6: Taking steps to improve the functioning of the 10111 Emergency
Response Centres
Over the Operation Iron Fist time period, 136 personnel at the 10111 Police
Emergency Response Centres underwent training to improve service delivery.
Senior managers were also deployed to each of the six 10111 centres to improve
the levels of supervision. These are short term measures and will not address
the structural shortcomings facing the six 10111 call centres.
In order to address these challenges, the SAPS is in the process of changing
the entire 10111 system. An amount of R600 million has been spent building and
equipping a new world class police emergency response centre. This has already
happened and it is anticipated that the six currently existing centres will
start being redeployed into a single emergency call centre from July 2007.
Technology for the satellite tracking of police vehicles is in the process of
being installed. The SAPS will publicly launch the new centre once it is fully
operational.
(More details can be found on page 7 of the evaluation report)
Objective 7: Improving safety on the railways
In the month of July a special operation called 'Operation Railway Safety'
was undertaken during which 497 Gauteng provincial SAPS reservists were
deployed onto the trains. They made a total of 4 435 arrests which successfully
tackled the criminal elements that had started to operate on railways in the
earlier part of the year. These police remained on the railways until the
deployment of 300 strong permanent SAPS Railway Police Unit.
Objective 8: Increasing community mobilisation against crime
Many Community Police Forums (CPFs) across the province stepped up to
support Operation Iron Fist. My department, the Gauteng Department of Community
Safety was involved in a number of initiatives to assist CPFs and encourage
community participation against crime. CPFs and sector forums were strengthened
in 27 police precincts. To name a few for examples, Booysens, Jeppe, Hillbrow,
Kagiso, Tembisa, Naledi, Khutsong, Dobsonville and Kliptown.
Mention must also be made of the Star newspapers campaign to support and
publicise the work of various CPFs that started during the operational
period.
(More details can be found on pages 8 and 9 of the evaluation report)
3. Operation Iron Fist and crime
While there may be an expectation that I release specific statistics on
crime, I need to remind you of the following, the National Minister for Safety
and Security made the policy clear during 2006 that annual national, provincial
and station level crime statistics would be released once a year to parliament.
He further stated that information on crime trends could be shared. I will
therefore be providing you with information on crime trends for specific
targeted crimes in Gauteng over the Operation Iron Fist period. These trends
are based the SAPS crime statistics and you will be able to corroborate what I
tell you today when the official statistics are released later this year. Where
other organisations have released their own statistics I will make mention of
these. Increases or decreases in crime are determined by comparing the monthly
numbers with the same time the previous year. This provides a more accurate
assessment as there are distinct annual patterns for most crime categories.
In relation to the specific crimes mentioned above I can announce the
following:
* Vehicle hijacking: Vehicle hijacking stabilised over the Operation Iron
Fist period when compared to the increases that occurred during the first half
of the year and the same time period in 2005. Fewer instances of vehicle
hijackings were reported during Operation Iron Fist than were reported during
the first six months of 2006. Nevertheless, there are still too many hijackings
occurring in Gauteng and greater effort will be needed to continue the downward
trend in this crime that has been occurring over the past four years.
* Cash-in-Transit Heists: There was a substantial reduction in the incidents
of cash-in-transit heists (CITs) during Operation Iron Fist. The
Cash-in-Transit Crime Combating Forum, consisting of industry role-players such
as the South African Bank Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) and the police,
announced that they had recorded an overall 27% reduction of CITs in the last
four months of 2006 when compared to 2005.
* Business robberies: Operation Iron Fist had some impact on business
robberies. Although business robberies continued to increase during Operation
Iron Fist, this was at a slower rate than was experienced during the first six
months of 2006. However, where businesses have come together to address
robberies in specific sectors, positive results have been achieved. For
example, the Consumer Goods Council Crime Prevention Programme reported that
armed robberies amongst their members in the retail industry had decreased by
11% during 2006 when compared to 2005. Nevertheless, business robberies
continue to be of concern and further attention will be paid to improving
policing and business strategies for addressing this crime type.
* Residential Robberies: This crime occurs when criminals use violence
against people while they are at home to enter their premises and rob them.
This crime continues to be of concern and although more people were arrested
for residential robberies, decreases were not recorded during Operation Iron
Fist. We cannot tolerate a situation where armed criminals attack people in
their homes. We will continue to prioritise this crime until we have the
results we want. We are in the process of exploring new strategies and tactics
to tackle this crime in 2007
* Residential Burglaries: House burglaries occur when criminals break into
houses when there is no one at home. We are encouraged that there was a
substantial reduction in house burglary during Operation Iron Fist. This
reflects a significant change as house burglaries were increasing slightly
during the first six months of 2006.
* Taxi Violence: There was a substantial reduction in taxi violence towards
the end of the Operation Iron Fist period with far fewer incidents occurring in
November and December than during previous months. Nevertheless, there were a
few incidents in certain areas and so we will remain vigilant and continue our
efforts to end taxi related violence.
4. Key Lessons
I will now present some of the key conclusions of the evaluation of
Operation Iron Fist.
Improved targeting
Operation Iron Fist demonstrated that the law enforcement agencies were able
to mobilise their resources to increase visibility and arrest rates. The police
use of resources did result in a decrease in overall crime rates, especially
for property related crimes. But the levels of violent crime remain high. This
high intensity strategy did not succeed in reducing incidents of specific types
of violent crime; in particular house robberies and business robberies. This
accounts in some measure for the growing levels of fear in our society.
Clearly, the capability of the police to target these types of violent crimes
needs to be strengthened. The Premier has asked that the Provincial
Commissioner to develop specific strategies to target these types of crime and
explain the approach that the SAPS will be adopting to the Gauteng
Legislature.
Effective partnerships
It was also clear from the results, that where relationships between CPFs
and police management were effective, better results where achieved.
Typically, partnerships result in increased and better intelligence being
provided to the police in relation to individuals or groups committing specific
crimes in various communities. These results demonstrate that it is possible to
get on top of serious and violent crimes if we work together and focus our
efforts. Over half (56%) of Gauteng policing precincts saw a reduction in
priority crimes including places such as De Deur Alexander, Atteridgeville,
Mamelodi and Eldorado Park (which recorded the largest decrease in Gauteng). In
many instances it was also because of dedicated police station managers who
were able to work in constructive partnerships with mobilised communities.
Nevertheless, community involvement is still too low and we are going to try
and improve this through the launch of a 'social movement against crime.'
Some stations recorded significant increases in crime including for example:
Dobsonville, Zonkwizizwe, Ennerdale, and Midrand. These stations will require
increased attention in the months ahead.
Station management
The restructuring of SAPS initiated by the National Office, resulted in
improved management and leadership at station level in some areas. This has
resulted in significant reductions in crime in some areas including
Johannesburg Central, Hillbrow, and Booysens as examples. Nevertheless, we will
want to see demonstrable improvements in police responses to calls for
assistance to the public. More attention needs to be paid to ensuring police
responsiveness improves. The tracking devices installed in police vehicles
later this year should result in better police responses.
Co-operation of law-enforcement agencies
During the Iron Fist period, Metropolitan Police Departments adjusted their
operational plans in accordance with the operation; this resulted in improved
co-ordination of law enforcement agencies in the provinces. This is one of the
areas that had a positive impact during Operation Iron Fist. I want to
encourage the trend towards an increasing proactive response by local
government in improving safety.
The Gauteng Safety Strategy
We are under no illusion that six month, police driven operations alone are
going to solve our crime problem. Over time, what is required to reduce crime
effectively, is a comprehensive integrated strategy that includes a focus on
improving the quality of policing, community mobilisation and partnerships,
better co-ordination of law-enforcement operations by the SAPS and the
Metropolitan Police Departments and increased involvement of local authorities.
It is for this reason that the Gauteng Provincial Government has adopted a
comprehensive eight-year Gauteng Safety Strategy in August of 2006. Further
details of this strategy will be presented by the Premier during his address at
the opening of the Gauteng Legislature and at the launch of the strategy which
will take place at a public event next month.
Conclusion
I must take this opportunity to thank all of you who demonstrated
considerable commitment and dedication during Operation Iron Fist and the
continuing fight against crime. Especially, the SAPS Gauteng Provincial
Commissioner and his dedicated police men and women for their efforts and
sacrifices in tackling crime. Appreciation must also be expressed to the
Metropolitan Police Departments and the members of CPFs and the many unsung
heroes that are involved in tackling crime.
Finally, I want to reaffirm that public safety is a priority. We will
continue to work in a systematic focused and determined way to ensure that our
people can enjoy both the freedom and security that they deserve.
Issued by: Department of Community Safety, Gauteng Provincial
Government
2 February 2007
