Commissioner Lieutenant General Fanie Masemola announced that it is within the police's rights to defend themselves against criminals who shoot at them first. He said it is quite evident with the recent success that the police are tightening their grip on serious and violent crimes, thus putting them one step ahead of criminals.

FIGHTING FIRE WITH FIRE

General Masemola said the police are responding decisively to the war declared by criminals. "We remain resolute in our efforts to fight crime and anyone who threatens the safety and security of law-abiding citizens and have thus adopted an aggressive approach in ensuring that we stamp the authority of the state. It is no secret that our men and women in blue are up against heavily armed criminals who have no regard for the rule of law," he said. Masemola was referring to the ongoing killings of alleged criminals in KwaZulu Natal in the past months.

In the last month alone, 15 wanted criminals were killed by the police in the province. According to KZN police commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, most of the alleged criminals were wanted for as many as 10 murders, while the others were wanted for the murder of a police officer. Mkhwanazi also confirmed that over 40 criminals were killed in the province since April this year. Most of the suspected criminals were killed in the notorious Inanda township, Cator Manor, both outside Durban, and in the Dlangezwa area, Esikhaleni township, both based on the north coast of KZN. The last incident took place on Tuesday, where five dangerous criminals were shot dead in a shootout with the police. The police said the suspects who were involved in a shootout with the police were wanted for a string of murders and business robbery cases. 

OPERATION SHANELA

Masemola said gun violence is prevalent in communities, hence the establishment of Operation Shanela, which, among other things, focuses on sniffing out these firearms in each and every community. "It is however encouraging to report that the SAPS has been able to destroy more than 260 000 firearms that were seized during police operations or voluntarily surrendered to the state in the last five years. Before destroying them, ballistics testing is conducted to establish if they are linked to any specific crime. Some of the weapons were destroyed after completion of the judicial processes in which lengthy convictions were secured, "he said. He said in the Western Cape, where a lot of firearm related gang violence is experienced, 3 100 firearms have been confiscated to date, while in Gauteng, 673 firearms have been seized during tracing operations during a twelve-month period.

ARRESTS

Masemola said through their high-density operations throughout the provinces that they have been able to secure the arrest of 766 237 suspects for various crimes. "These include 161 752 wanted suspects for priority crimes including murder, cash-in-transit armed robberies, sexual offences, rape, car hijacking, and firearm related offences. We have also registered a breakthrough with the arrest of at least ten suspects linked to ATM bombings in Gauteng, eight of the suspects were intercepted in Katlehong, Thokoza and Soweto in Gauteng, while another two were traced to Senekal in the Free State. These arrests were affected with the assistance of our partners in the banking sector and key stakeholders in the fight against crime. These suspects are being linked to more than 20 ATM bombings that took place in Soweto and the East Rand," Masemola said.

Additional reporting by Philani Mzila