SAPS on Red Alert for Festive Season, Bheki Cele Threatens Criminals with Zero Tolerance Policy

• Bheki Cele addressed 19 000 South African Police Services officers in Durban and told them to take a zero-tolerance approach to crime
• Cele stressed the importance of ensuring a safe festive period and said that measures have been put in place to help achieve this
• The police minister focused on gender-based violence and said that the police offciers need to support victims

DURBAN - Bheki Cele, the Minister of Police, addressed 19 000 South African Police Service (SAPS) officers in KwaZulu-Natal and told them to have a zero-tolerance approach to crime, particularly over the festive period.

Cele used recent protests which blocked roads as an example of an activity that must not be tolerated. He added that SANDF soldiers are assisting SAPS with road safety.

According to The Witness, Cele emphasised the need for safety over the festive season that it is the responsibility of each person to contribute towards this goal.

Read also

"Hebanna, scrap everything!": South Africans want an end to all Covid19 protocols, contact tracing ended

Cele places the spotlight on gender-based violence

Besides road safety, Cele also said that SAPS need to focus on gender-based violence (GBV), as well as crimes against differently-abled people and children. The police minister said that SAPS must prioritise these cases.

“When women come to the station to report that they are being abused by whoever, especially the males, you take care of that woman. You respond with care and courtesy. You don't instruct her to go back and negotiate with the perpetrator", Cele said.

Cele urged the officers to create systems of support for victims of GBV. He further stated that those who are guilty of committing GBV must be put in prison so that society as a whole can be protected, IOL reports.

South Africans react to Cele's address on crime

Read also

Cele encourages officers not to hesitate when confronted by 'gun-toting thugs'

@Vikesh666 asked:

"Since when is it the Ministers job to get involved in operational matters?"

@gavinkinnear1 remarked:

"Pity he never had that approach when looting was going on."

@daryl_swanepoel said:

"No nonsense should not mean inhumane! Common decency must always prevail."

@gvannpva believes:

"This is top notch policing!"

@Iwanttoknow50 shared:

"The sheriff with the hat woke up."

Cele encourages officers not to hesitate when confronted by 'gun-toting thugs'

Speaking of Cele, Briefly News previously reported that the Minister of Police is urging members of SAPS to act decisively whenever they are confronted by a criminal in possession of a dangerous weapon.

The minister, who just a day ago was hot on the lips of social media users amid an earlier visit to Cape Town where he oversaw the destruction of thousands of litres of alcohol, was careful not to allude to his infamous "shoot-to-kill" ideology.

Instead, while addressing a Safer Festive Season Inspection Tour in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, he reminded the men and women in blue that they deal with hardened criminals who would not hesitate to pull the trigger first if caught up in a dangerous situation.

Source: Briefly News