Police minister Bheki Cele has urged police in KwaZulu-Natal to “take no prisoners” in one of the province's murder and gender-based violence hotspots.

Cele on Tuesday visited the Plessislaer policing precinct, just outside Pietermaritzburg, which has proven to be one of the major problem areas for serious and violent crimes in the province.

He said additional members from national SAPS headquarters have been deployed to the area to deal with high levels of murder, contact crimes and alarmingly high levels of GBV-related incidents.

“You live with the people that don't just murder women, they cut their throats. We are dealing with animals here. We will have to deal with them decisively, especially when it comes to the safety of the communities and more especially women and children.” 

Cele, who was in the Western Cape last week to deal with similar issues in certain areas, said at least 110 additional members had been deployed in the province to deal with areas of concern such as the Imbali township in Plessislaer, Inanda and Umlazi.

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