New allowance for investigators as police invest in crime-fighting efforts

JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu said more work needs to be done to ensure the safety of all South Africans.

Mchunu briefed the media on Friday morning to highlight some changes that will be implemented to enhance service delivery in the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Mchunu said, despite a decrease in crime during the fourth quarter, police need to increase crime-fighting.

“We know that we're still far from getting to the level where we want to get to, and satisfying that criteria where people must say we feel safe now in South Africa. When we are in our homes, when we walk around and all of that, we still have a lot of work to do in that area, but it was worth noting that we now have this consistency of decreases in crime that are reported in police stations as reflected on our crime stats for the fourth quarter.”

The interventions announced include the introduction of new allowances, this is in a bid to retain skills in high-risk environments.

National Commissioner Fannie Masemola said the detective investigator scarce skills allowance will be allocated to members of the National Intervention Unit (NIU).

He explained that this unit mainly responds to high-risk incidents, such as cash-in-transit armed robberies and ATM bombings.

“Later on, this morning [Friday], we will be conferring the operators' badge to 35 qualifying NIU members that have undergone the necessary training to serve in this elite unit. We are also pleased to announce that there will be an increase.”