PANYAZA LESUFI: How collaboration and unity help Gauteng to fight crime

The fight against crime remains a top priority for the Gauteng provincial government, as demonstrated by the fact that in the past 22 months we have supplied the SA Police Service (SAPS) with three helicopters, 700 new cars, 12,000 CCTV cameras, more than 12,000 community police wardens, and five mobile incident command centres to aid in the province’s crime-fighting initiatives. These resources have enabled police to respond more effectively to crimes and criminals.

Recently, the provincial government, the SAPS and municipal police departments, including local and district municipalities, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on integrated cross-border law enforcement operations to advance this fight. This aims to improve the co-ordination of crime-prevention efforts across municipal boundaries by enabling collaboration between provincial and municipal law enforcement agencies.

It builds on previous collaboration agreements between SAPS and the cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni. The government is laying the foundation for a safer, more secure province through strategic capacity building for law enforcement, strengthening vital partnerships with the private sector, and a significant increase in the crime-fighting budget.

These focused efforts highlight a bold, unwavering determination to tackle crime head-on and create a resilient, proactive system that protects and empowers communities. However, even with these efforts, policing faces unprecedented difficulties, such as growing urban populations, increasing cyber threats, and the emergence of more complex and sometimes cross-border criminal networks.

According to the latest data, there is about one police officer for every 358 residents in Gauteng. As of 2023, about 45,000 SAPS officers, including operational and administrative personnel, served the 16.1-million people living in Gauteng.  

Given that the UN advises a 1:250 ratio for efficient policing, Gauteng lacks adequate resources, and police visibility is still a problem in high-crime regions such as Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

Like other highly urbanised regional economic hubs worldwide that are grappling with complex crime challenges that demand innovative and advanced prevention strategies, Gauteng is also thinking outside the box. Several large urban areas worldwide have successfully reduced crime thanks to co-ordinated police collaboration.

To significantly reduce violent and property crime, municipalities such as New York City and Los Angeles in the US, and Medellin in Colombia, have implemented a data-driven policing method that improves sector co-operation and community policing partnerships, including integrating police efforts with social programmes and intelligence sharing.

The ever-changing character of criminal activity in such densely populated, economically vibrant locations is frequently too much for traditional policing techniques to handle. The proliferation of vigilante groups and the emergence of extortion rackets, assassination squads, abduction rings and cross-border people-smuggling networks are making lawlessness worse and exhausting already scarce policing resources.

Public safety is compromised, criminal impunity is exacerbated, and this perilous trend overextends law enforcement’s capabilities. As stated in my 2025 state of the province address, we have prioritised law enforcement integration and public-private and community collaborations to innovate our interventions.

Increased investment, integration of technology-driven solutions and private-sector collaborations are already yielding positive results, enhancing public safety and addressing the imbalance in the citizen-to-police ratio. The provincial Air Wing unit represents a significant investment in our fight against crime and has been crucial in thwarting numerous criminal activities.

Since its inception, the Air Wing has participated in hundreds of operations, achieving remarkable success. It has facilitated more than half a million arrests, recovered stolen property and prevented countless criminal attempts.

Through our collaboration with private sector partners, including Business Against Crime SA and the private security industry, we have successfully profiled and identified 442 kingpins behind the most serious crimes in our province, from ATM bombings and kidnappings to hijackings, cash-in-transit heists, contract killings, blue light gangs and business robberies. Since then we have closely monitored these individuals and have arrested 119 of them so far.

The provincial government’s partnership with Vumacam, a leading CCTV surveillance provider, has enhanced suspect tracking and crime prevention. By leveraging Vumacam’s extensive network of high-definition cameras and advanced analytics, this collaboration highlights the value of public-private partnerships in boosting safety. Plans are now in place to expand the surveillance network across the province.

We also maintain a strong partnership with communities through our robust community patroller system, co-ordinated by the SAPS in collaboration with other provincial law enforcement agencies. Each of Gauteng’s five corridors is supported by 200 patrollers as part of Operation Okae Molao, an initiative to combat crime across the province. Some patrollers are deployed to schools and clinics, providing 24-hour surveillance to deter criminal activity in these vulnerable areas.

Partnerships with the private sector are essential, especially during budget cuts. They also play a key role in boosting our ability to leverage technology, combat cyberattacks and deploy cutting-edge tools such as facial recognition, predictive policing algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI).

While public-sector law enforcement agencies may lack private tech firms’ expertise, resources or innovative capacity, well-defined and properly regulated partnerships can bridge that gap. Effective law enforcement in the future depends on dismantling limiting structural boundaries, encouraging teamwork, uniting law enforcement agencies and establishing strategic alliances with stakeholders and social partners. A co-ordinated approach to public safety is not an option in today’s interconnected world; it is a need.

The MOU mentioned earlier aims to eliminate bureaucratic barriers by streamlining processes, enabling law enforcement authorities to respond more effectively and efficiently. Simplifying procedures and reducing red tape allow police to adopt proactive strategies, leading to faster responses to criminal activity. A more flexible framework will enhance adaptability to evolving crime trends, ensuring law enforcement agencies are better equipped to address emerging threats.

Crime statistics serve as one of the most critical benchmarks for evaluating the effectiveness of policing and crime-fighting initiatives. In Gauteng, crime decreased by 6.5% between October and December 2024, demonstrating that recent interventions have successfully improved police visibility and enhanced community safety.

We remain unwavering in our commitment to making Gauteng safer, and we will stop at nothing to achieve that goal. We will tackle crime at its roots by strengthening law enforcement, fostering community partnerships and implementing innovative crime prevention strategies.

Every resident deserves to live safely and peacefully, and we will work tirelessly to build a more secure Gauteng for all.

• Lesufi is Gauteng premier.