Asikhulume Bahlali base Soweto,
It’s been more than 400 days since the launch of the Gauteng crime-fighting unit, also known as “AmaPanyaza”. This unit was launched on the 1st of May 2023. The mandate they were given was to fight crime in the townships.
In this article we would like look at the performance of the Crime Wardens and the difference made in our community of Soweto and other townships in Gauteng. We invite readers to share with us their experiences and observations on the levels of crime in Soweto since the launch of AmaPanyaza more than a year ago.
There was a lot of criticism towards this unit when it was launched, coming from the public and within the authorities. Some residents in Gauteng residents said it was an election stunt.
Some police experts raised concerns and warned against arming Crime Prevention Wardens, that they would be a target for violent criminals and gun theft. There were claims by some journalists who conducted investigations that revealed poor and inadequate training of the wardens and a lack of proper screening in their recruitment.
Let’s look at the crime statistics in Gauteng since the launch of the Crime-fighting unit in 2023.
According to the Crime Statistics released by the SAPS, for the third quarter of 2023 (Oct-Dec 2023). Gauteng has seen an increase of 1.0% (116 597) in Community Reported Serious crimes compared to the same period in 2022 (115 458) before the launch of AmaPanyaza.
When it came to Contact Crime (Rape, Murder, Carjacking, Robbery) the statistics showed that in the same period of 2022 before the launch of AmaPanyaza the number was 50 039 of the reported cases. In 2023 there was an increase of 2.6% (51 327) in the same period.
There was a decline in the reported cases of Sexual offenses in the year of 2023 in Gauteng. Prior to the launch of Amapanyaza in the last quarter of 2022, we had 3145 reported cases of sexual assault. This was reduced to 3066 in 2023 during the same period. That’s a 2.59% difference.
A detailed report on the Crime statistics for the third quarter of 2023 can be found here.
Asikhulume Bahlali, are there any positive changes in our communities since the introduction of Crime Wardens in Soweto and other parts of Gauteng.
What about the poor and inadequate training of the Crime Wardens
Should the Gauteng government invest in the training and upskilling of the wardens? What is their plan in ensuring that this unit achieves its goal of fighting crime in our communities?
With the upcoming coalition government in Gauteng that will include the Democratic Alliance (DA) and possibly the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), will this crime-fighting unit be scrapped or might they gain the support and boost that they need.
The EFF leader had publicly raised displeasure about this Crime fighting unit when they were launched last year. It would be interesting to see what will be DA’s approach to the Crime Fighting Unit.
Asikhulume Soweto,
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