The National Commissioner of Police General Bheki Cele has thrown his full weight behind the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Units (FCS) and has highly commended the units for the successes since their re- establishment in June 2010.
Provinces have made serious inroads towards the re-establishment of the FCS units with 176 clusters already fully operational throughout the country, prioritising crimes against women and children. The functioning of the units have yielded promising results towards the fight against the scourge. Community participation have also contributed positively towards arrests and convictions. To date the FCS units have secured 306 convictions for life sentences and over 20 000 years imprisonment for crimes against women and children.
"Eastern Cape receives 10 new vehicles for the FCS Units"
General Cele proudly handed the keys of 10 new vehicles to the Deputy Minister of the Police Maggie Sotyu who in turn, presented them to the Eastern Cape Provincial Commissioner. The vehicles will enable the FCS unit detectives to hit the ground and crack cases of crimes against women and children.
"We urge members of the community not to hide behind the banner of culture when people are committing crime, we must draw a line between kidnapping, abduction, rape versus 'ukuthwala'. Culture should not be used as a defence mechanism for people who are committing crime against a girl child. We are also calling upon families to observe the law and end the practice of receiving payment in a form of lobola (dowry) as they will also be charged together with the perpetrator as accomplices. We are intensifying our efforts to fight the scourge in the rural areas especially in Lusikisiki - Eastern Cape and Bergville in KwaZulu-Natal", said Cele.
"The launch of the Tracking Teams is the clear indication of our commitment in the fight against crime, we are tracking the most wanted criminals around the clock for all serious crimes including crimes against women and children. We are squeezing the space for criminals to zero, if they don't surrender they will be found", Cele concluded.
For enquiries:
Major General Nonkululeko Mbatha
National Media Centre
Tel: 012 400 6573
Cell: 083 645 6252
E-mail: mediacentre@saps.org.za
Over 300 convictions of Life Sentences for Crimes Against Women and Children in SA
