Minister Fikile Mbalula: Update on operation safer festive season and launch of Operation Fiela

Feedback on operation safer festive season and launch of Operation Fiela 2018 by hon. Fikile Mbalula, MP

Before we begin with the introduction of Operation Fiela – at my last week’s press conference I undertook to return back to all of you and provide some answers relating to Operation Safer Festive Season I launched on the 13th October 2017.

Operation Safer Festive Season officially ends on the 31st of this month, January 2018.

As we begin Operation Fiela today, SAPS Operation Safer Season will be easing out ending this month end. This plan enables us not to leave a vacuum on the streets and strategic spaces of our country.

Government objectives are underpinned by the commitment that by 2030; “All People in South Africa Are and Feel Safe”, this will be achieved by going beyond the call of duty to safeguard society in fighting crime during the festive season; and ensuring overall stability in the country by managing all service delivery protests, political gatherings and protests actions.

An inter-departmental approach, coordinated by the National Joint Intelligence and Operational Structure (NATJOINTS), was deployed. 

The focus factors on Operation Festive Safer Season were;

  • Shopping & entertainment venues.
  • Increased movement of large sums of money.
  • Cash demand driving sale of stolen goods
  • Increase in illegal liquor outlets.
  • In-flux of visitors & tourists from inland provinces (Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, North West, Limpopo & Northern Cape) to coastal provinces (KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape & Eastern Cape)
  • Increased traffic volume on all national routes.
  • Movement of migrant workers across borders.
  • Targeting of women & children, including other vulnerable groups.
  • Heightened abuse of alcohol and illicit drugs
  • Youth having idle time away from educational occupancy
     

The Operation had six pillars which included road safety enforcements and border security amongst others.

The overall approach was based on high police visibility in targeted areas informed by crime & intelligence assessments.

An average of 11 000 police personnel were deployed on a daily basis to specifically focus themselves on the festive season factors I mentioned earlier. This was also an opportunity to deploy our fresh from graduation constables totalling 3 510. You will recall we passed these young constables out in December 2017 and they were immediately deployed to real operations across the country.

Allow me to provide you with basic statistics:

  • We have to date had police deployments and activities totalling just over 1 million
  • 23 million searches of persons, homes and vehicles have taken place to date
  • A total of 1 100 arrests were made over aggravated and armed robberies
  • Just over 40 000 individuals were arrested on Fire-Arms Control Act, Liquor Act, Second Hand Good Act and other
  • Police visited over 4000 alcohol selling establishments
  • 540 arrests for rape and 61 for sexual assault
  • Child abuse cases saw 15 persons being arrested and 68 arrests for kidnapping
  • Law Enforcement issued 128 000 fines for traffic and liquor offenses
  • We continue to see reckless use of motor vehicles with 9 200 arrested for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
  • 2900 arrests were made on border security, these include undocumented persons, theft of livestock and motor vehicles
  • Police seized over 12 000 ammunition and about 700 explosives
  • Large quantity of illicit drugs were seized
     

These arrests includes a large number of suspects in previous crimes that we had profiled mid-year.

I also wish to specifically congratulate as exemplary the work of the Hawks and SAPS CI and NPA in Eastern Cape in successfully investigating and prosecuting Christopher Panayiotou, Sinethemba Nenembe and Zolani Sibeko at the Port Elizabeth High Court for the brutal and unnecessary murder of Mrs Jayde Panayiotou.

This case proves that intelligence led investigations followed by careful docket preparation always works. In October 2017, an intelligence driven joint operation between the Hawks’ South African Narcotics Enforcement Bureau (SANEB) and Crime Intelligence led to the discovery of the biggest tik manufacturing lab in the history of the Eastern Cape, R30 million worth of tik is believed to have been manufactured on the site.

You will also remember our interventions in Glebelands where we opened a new satellite police station to quell the lawlessness and violence there. Following an on-going probe into murders at the Glebelands Hostel, on the 06 of December 2017, KwaZulu-Natal Police officers arrested 4 men, one of whom is a Policeman.

The hostel has been marred by violent crimes, including murder. The arrest comes a week after I launched a satellite police station, which took two months to put up.

I want to thank the Mayor Gumede of EThekwini for her answering my request in assisting and donation of municipal property for use as a police station.

Operation Fiela we launch today was decided upon by cabinet last year and will continue from its past success and additional data garnered from Operation Safer Festive Season.

Operation Fiela however includes other state entities like Home Affairs, State Security Agency, DIRCO, NPA, Social Development, Local Government, various state agencies, Department of Defence, SAPS and many others.

Once again the operational focus will be on the following but not limited to:

  • Illicit drug trafficking and contraband
  • Undocumented migrants!
  • Human trafficking and prostitution!
  • Liquor Control
  • Second Hand Goods!
  • Hi-jacking and illegal occupation of buildings
  • Illegal firearms and ammunition!
  • Defacing of historical statues and symbols!
  • Unlicensed businesses!
  • For operational reasons other focus areas are not going to be revealed here today
     

As we have seen in recent days and weeks, there are several protests actions that have occurred due to communities losing faith in the police. Most of these protests are of genuine feelings and I want to state clearly that our people are correct.

It is clear that some police stations have relented and have accepted to co-exist with crime and live side by side with criminals.

This is what our people are rejecting and we urge police to work harder in cooperating with their communities.

When communities report drug dens, illegal shebeens, brothels and human trafficking suspects – police are obliged to open a docket and investigate the matter officially with clear action taken.

I expect not to have a single suspected drug-den, illegal shebeen or any other public nuisance remaining unattended.

We must refuse to co-exist with criminals. Operation Fiela aims to reinforce police work.

The objectives of Operation Fiela for SAPS must therefore include:

Stamping out of ‘No go areas’ - There are some areas in our country that criminals have declared as ‘no-go areas’.

This includes gangs and some undocumented foreign nationals segmented areas.

Operations must ‘Restore community faith on police’ - communities have developed a tendency of protecting criminals by not providing information on crimes or suspects and also by attacking the police.

Our aim is to win back our communities so as to deal with the illegal acts of vigilantism.

We must restore the authority of the state. The ‘Militarized violent crime phenomenon’ must be confronted head on with equal velocity - Criminals carrying out heists appear highly or professionally trained in specialised weapons and tactics.

Their resources include controlled weapons like explosives, some of which are home made. This poses a serious threat to the state and national security.

‘Organised Crime Threat Assessment (OCTA)’ must, during Operation Fiela be utilised as one of the key instruments to deal a blow on how crime manifest and generate. South Africans cannot live side by side with criminal syndicates; we must be focus on crime modus operandi analysis.

Operation Fiela will be operationalised with a Community Safety Plan and Community Policing Strategy.

In this regard what I would like to see are communities left empowered by the presence of intense security operations.

At this time my colleagues will make their supporting statements to Police Ministry, as this is a SAPS operation they support.

Thank you.

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