PARKTOWN – The Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela together with his Deputy responsible for Policing, Major General Tommy Mthombeni and the Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Major General Ebrahim Kadwa, led a delegation of senior officers from Crime Intelligence, Visible Policing and Detectives in an urgent engagement with cash-in-transit (CIT) industry partners on Wednesday morning, 30 December 2020. The intention of the Provincial Commissioner with this engagement was to urgently address the recent upsurge in the number of CIT incidents in the Province, and to subsequently strengthen relations and enhance cooperation between the SAPS and the industry.
Comparing the rate of occurrence of incidents this year to last year’s rate, Lieutenant General Mawela confirmed that there is a worrying spike in the rate and frequency of incidents of cash-in-transit robberies in Gauteng and that urgent intervention and attention is required from all stakeholders. He further identified related operational risk factors and deficiencies which have seen Fidelity and G4S being hit the hardest.
It is within this context that the Commissioner emphasised the importance of reviewing existing plans and strengthening relations whereby both law enforcement and industry partners will with immediate effect, put measures in place and embark on rigorous operations focusing on: averting/preventing incidents; response time; arrests; and prosecutorial-led investigations.
General Mawela commended the industry partners for the establishment of the CITASA (Cash-in-Transit Association of South Africa) and the subsequent roll-out of a state-of-the-art operational command centre where the SAPS will be represented and have access to shared services and technologies that will enhance efforts to flatten the spike in relation to cash-in-transit robberies.
“In addressing CIT robberies, we need to take cognisance of the fact that various secondary crimes emanate from these robberies and this ultimately has a bearing on the total crime picture of the Province. One CIT robbery may at the end of the day result in additional crimes being recorded such as: malicious damage to property (MITP) relating to the armoured vehicle; attempted murder and murder where in some instances security guards, police members and/or suspects have been shot and injured or killed; robbery of the money, hijacking for suspects’ getaway, and other crimes,” said General Mawela reiterating the gravity of CIT’s.
“If we want to make a positive impact and mitigate this emerging urban terror, we will need to work hard on building a value-driven relationship with operational plans that are more proactive rather than reactive, concluded the Commissioner, highlighting the critical and central role played by the Crime Intelligence component.
All stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to work together with the SAPS and the DPCI towards eradicating cash-in-transit robberies and related crimes. Grant Clarke appreciated the Provincial Commissioner reaching out to the industry and on behalf of the CITASA committed that, “it’s all hands on deck moving forward as all parties commit towards enhanced cooperation and coordination of efforts.”

Source: South African Police Service