PE strategy to cut crime going national
Top cops in town to discuss roll-out of project that has put hundreds of criminals behind bars
A Port Elizabeth police pilot project that has led to the arrest of hundreds of criminals over the past four months will now be rolled out across the country. Top brass are not wasting any time on the implementation, with a number of generals from across the country meeting in the city this week to discuss the roll-out plan as the project’s validation process takes place. In September, police announced that Port Elizabeth was the testing ground for the new policing model – aimed at enhancing response times to priority crimes such as hijackings and robberies. The project aimed to streamline response times and ensure quicker reaction to tip-offs by consolidating resources from various police stations. The project is the brainchild of deputy national commissioner Lieutenant-General Gary Kruser, who is in Port Elizabeth to assess and monitor how the system should be adapted. In an interview yesterday, Kruser said the roll-out was part of the police’s Back to Basics campaign, which saw an operational command centre (OCC) set up and manned to monitor a select group of police officials on the road. Port Elizabeth’s centre is based at the Mount Road police station. The new system had seen great results, including the arrest of wanted robbers and hijackers. “This project has exceeded expectations and everyone who has been here to assess the results is impressed,” he said. Kruser said the OCC team consisted of detectives, forensic experts, crime intelligence operatives, specialised units and operational officers on the beat. “The idea is to have a centralised point where all information is analysed and projects established.
“We have all role players in the OCC and they are on call 24 hours to make sure there are sufficient results and information is speedily followed up,” he said. The team operated on crime analysis and identified hot spot areas based on their crime figures and information in specific areas. “If our patterns show a problem in robberies in a specific area, the OCC forms a project to address it. “Whether that is undercover operations or tapping into informer networks, they find ways to bring that crime in these areas down. “Since the establishment of the OCC we have seen a reduction in crimes, which proves this is a solution.” Kruser said that this week a team of researchers was in the city assessing the projects and validating the results. “While this is happening, we are briefing officials from other provinces on how this should be rolled out and how the system can be adapted to suit every province and area differently,” he said. The OCC is soon to be implemented in Gauteng where commanders have already taken the lead and started formulating a plan. “Everyone from all provinces is confident this will work in their areas. The system is of such a nature that it can be adapted to fit various crime patterns and analysis. “We also have a tracing team dedicated to locating and arresting wanted suspects which in this case [Port Elizabeth] mostly comprises gang-related [incidents].” All the police vehicle tracking systems are also monitored, to assess each vehicle’s location to ensure a speedy response. The new project aims to consolidate already existing hi-tech resources, such as car-tracking devices and control room computer systems, to ensure a more efficient response – particularly to crimes still in progress.
