By Kaya 959 Reporter
Police Minister Bheki Cele is expected to kick off his countrywide Safer Festive Season Inspection Tour in Limpopo on Monday.
Cele said the visit forms part of efforts by the SAPS to channel resources to areas where they are most needed and to ensure police deal decisively with crime during the holiday season.
Under the theme, ‘Extending Our Reach Through Blue Light Visibility’, Cele says the tour will focus on visible policing.
The tour will also focus on conducting special crime awareness and prevention operations. Officers will target crimes prevalent during the festive period such as gender-based violence and crimes against children.
They will also focus on border security and contravention of road and traffic regulations.
Minister Cele says every safer festive season plan is unique to the province.
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South Africans urged to remain alert
Cele has urged South Africans to remain alert and be aware of their surroundings at all times to avoid being easy targets for criminals
He says the country’s officers in blue in all provinces will be at hand to keep citizens safe.
“We once again usher in the festive season during a pandemic that has been devastating to our country… Police will continue to ensure maximum compliance of the regulations, to minimize the spread of the virus.
“We know that criminals will try and take advantage of this time that is usually categorised by festivities, social gatherings, and leisure,” says Cele.
He adds that their respective safer festive season plans are already in full swing and will be intensified as the year comes to a close.
Cele says these plans are not one-size-fits-all. He says police have tailored the operations to suit the needs of the province. The plans are also based on each province’s crime situations.
“I am sure the police will give criminals a hard time and squeeze out the space for anyone with criminal intent,” he says.
The Safer Festive Season operations are set to continue until January 31, 2022.
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