The EFF says it has written to police minister Bheki Cele requesting a meeting to discuss the state of the police service after the release of the latest crime statistics last week.
The party said it wanted to hear how police are tackling crimes such as rape after statistics revealed an increase in cases reported to police in the first three months of the year.
Sexual offences, the stats revealed, increased by 13.7% to 13,799, an increase of 1,666 from the same time last year.
Rape cases increased by 13.7% to 10,818, an increase of 1,300 from the same time in 2020.
Sexual assault cases stood at 2,165 (a 13.4% increase), attempted sexual assault at 547 (up by 26.3%) and 269 contact sexual offences were up by 1.1% on the same time last year.
The EFF also blamed parliament for not dedicating enough resources to tackle rape.
“We will again write to the speaker of parliament asking her to reflect on the growing numbers of sexual assaults and rapes, and drum it into her head that parliament can no longer sit around while our people are under siege.”
It said it was concerned about the deteriorating quality of service delivery by police, which resulted in failure to apprehend perpetrators involved in crimes such the mass shootings often witnessed in areas in the Western Cape.
“The reality is that the quality of police service has gradually eroded over the past decade or two, and police today have no capacity to conduct even the most rudimentary investigations.
“Police crime intelligence is almost non-existent and basic crimes that could be detected, such as regular mass killings in Khayelitsha, go under the radar because the police service has no intelligence to speak of,” it said.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
‘People are under siege’: EFF wants answers from Bheki Cele on high crime rate
Image: 123RF/Artit Oubkaew
The EFF says it has written to police minister Bheki Cele requesting a meeting to discuss the state of the police service after the release of the latest crime statistics last week.
The party said it wanted to hear how police are tackling crimes such as rape after statistics revealed an increase in cases reported to police in the first three months of the year.
Sexual offences, the stats revealed, increased by 13.7% to 13,799, an increase of 1,666 from the same time last year.
Rape cases increased by 13.7% to 10,818, an increase of 1,300 from the same time in 2020.
Sexual assault cases stood at 2,165 (a 13.4% increase), attempted sexual assault at 547 (up by 26.3%) and 269 contact sexual offences were up by 1.1% on the same time last year.
The EFF also blamed parliament for not dedicating enough resources to tackle rape.
“We will again write to the speaker of parliament asking her to reflect on the growing numbers of sexual assaults and rapes, and drum it into her head that parliament can no longer sit around while our people are under siege.”
It said it was concerned about the deteriorating quality of service delivery by police, which resulted in failure to apprehend perpetrators involved in crimes such the mass shootings often witnessed in areas in the Western Cape.
“The reality is that the quality of police service has gradually eroded over the past decade or two, and police today have no capacity to conduct even the most rudimentary investigations.
“Police crime intelligence is almost non-existent and basic crimes that could be detected, such as regular mass killings in Khayelitsha, go under the radar because the police service has no intelligence to speak of,” it said.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
READ MORE:
SA's daily 'crime bloodbath' by numbers: DA
RECORDED | Police minister Bheki Cele announces quarterly crime stats
Cele says it's unfair to blame police alone for high crime rate
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most read
Latest Videos