Anti-Gang Unit launched nationally
POLICE Minister Bheki Cele has officially expanded the mandate of the Anti-Gang Unit (AGU), elevating it to the national office to enable the unit’s specialised skills set to deal with crimes in communities across the country.
President Cyril Ramaphosa and Cele formally launched the AGU in Hanover Park in November last year in an effort to disorganise and disable the criminal economy linked to gangsterism, including drug and firearm supply lines.
During his election campaign, Ramaphosa said that since the establishment of the AGU, gang activity in Cape Town had dropped by 24%.
Cele’s announcement on Wednesday follows an incident earlier this month where six AGU members were shot and injured while on a tracing operation in Sweet Home Farm informal settlement, Samora Machel.
He said: “In responding directly to gangsterism, the Anti-Gang Unit will be elevated to a national division, and other specialised units will be introduced. This unit will extend its mandate and deal with other crimes of fear that are terrorising our communities.”
The mandate included murder, rape, car hijackings, house robberies, house burglaries and cash-in-transit heists, Cele said.
He added there were plans under way to fully capacitate investigators with sufficient resources and the relevant manpower.
“A detective academy will be established to strengthen the capacity and training of new detectives and specialised investigators. Co-operation between prosecutors and investigators through prosecutorial-guided investigation will be intensified to improve the success rate of all priority cases.
“Moreover, the project of the establishment of specialised courts will be enhanced in order to promote the effectiveness and efficiency of the criminal justice system,” Cele said.
He added that the fight against corruption was also being intensified by the Hawks making serious inroads in economic crimes.
“To date, 1 800 dockets have been submitted to the NPA for determination. The process of the appointment of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate head is under way,” Cele said
The new policing approach would align with new crime patterns, enhancing resources in combating economic crimes, stabilising the troubled trucking industry and tackling illegal mining.
“The specialised focused policing will also extend to support the specialised task teams focusing on political killings, police killings, high profile killings, high profile cases and taxirelated killings,” he said.