CAPE TOWN, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The South African Police Service (SAPS) is seeking a comprehensive approach and integrating all resources to combat threats posed by extortion across the country, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said Tuesday.
Mchunu made the statement as he briefed the parliament in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, on his department's plans to deal with the current extortion crisis in the country.
Mchunu in his address said that "extortion has been emerging over time and has now reached levels where all communities in our country ... have become very angry, bitter and agitated; the pain has gone very deep."
"The modus operandi of the perpetrators involved in these heinous acts is well known. Most of them are individuals who do not want to work but rather choose to parade as armies of murderous parasites that must be fought and rejected by society as a whole," he told the parliament. "They are often heavily armed, operating in groups that instill fear and chaos. The relative 'silence' of communities and low reporting is all due to these fears."
"We must also mention that we see shocking incidents of lowest morality where church services, funerals and other family-related functions get disrupted by these extortionists," he added.
Mchunu underlined that police led by his ministry are hard at work fighting these crimes daily, citing a recent operation in which extortionists were confronted in Milnerton in Cape Town and four of them were killed in a shootout with police.
Operations were also underway in other provinces targeting similar crimes. "Generally there is more extortion going on than meets the eye. This requires more crime intelligence operations," said the minister.
"In the context of the above incidents and the whole government approach, we have initiated the signing of cooperative agreements with provincial and local governments with operational plans all seeking to integrate our resources against crime," Mchunu stressed. "Currently, the operational plan is being rolled out in Cape Town with its new six sub-districts. The model will be replicated in all metros in the country."
The minister revealed that the operation plan will include community policing forums and private security companies, while the police department is also holding a series of meetings with sister departments on collaboration against crime. "We believe traditional leaders and communities have a role to play and they will be engaged." ■