Take youths out of thugs’ reach, says top cop
YOUNG people are complicit in more than four out of every five crime operations.
This is according to new national police commissioner General Khehla John Sitole.
“In more than 80% of their operations‚ they [criminals] use a young person‚” Sitole said at the Pretoria West Police College during his first media conference as top cop.
He said criminals used young people in hijackings‚ among other crimes.
“We are going to make sure that we take away the most precious resource for criminals: take a young person out of reach.”
Sitole said the police would tackle this challenge with community and youth policing. He believes police must stamp their authority on communities who protect criminals.
President Jacob Zuma announced Sitole’s appointment on Wednesday.
Sitole joined the police in 1986. He became provincial commissioner in the Free State in 2011‚ deputy national commissioner of policing in 2013 and divisional commissioner of protection and security services last year. Sitole wants to revive the police’s Organised Crime Threat Analysis to analyse the modus operandi of criminal syndicates.
“Currently we are chasing the crime that is committed by criminals‚ but criminals sit down and they design a modus operandi that is capable of producing one million crimes. When one of these crimes is committed‚ we rush after it‚ we investigate‚ but we never deal with the modus operandi.”
Sitole is the first permanent national police commissioner since General Riah Phiyega was suspended in October 2015.
Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane and Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba served as acting national commissioners in the interim.
Sitole is the sixth police commissioner appointed by Zuma and the first career cop to be appointed as permanent national police commissioner since former president Nelson Mandela appointed General George Fivaz in January 1995.
Sitole said he would advise Police Minister Fikile Mbalula on what policies were best for police operations.
He said he could not implement policing without Mbalula’s support. – TimesLIVE