Gauteng police say despite improved crime-fighting efforts, kidnapping remains stubborn

JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng police say despite improved efforts to fight crime in the province, incidents of kidnapping remain stubborn.

Provincial Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni delivered the 4th quarter crime statistics for the 2024/25 financial year on Thursday.

He says kidnappings increased by more than 15% during this period.

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Mthombeni says a majority of these cases are linked to hijacking, robbery, extortion and human trafficking.

“Through the national Anti–Kidnapping Unit, the province has arrested 88 suspects linked to 62 cases of kidnapping and rescued 77 victims of kidnapping during the period under review.”

Mthombeni adds that a multipronged response system is in place to deal with the issue.

“We are working together with our stakeholders to combat the kidnapping syndicates operating in this province. We are thankful to Business Against Crime South Africa for our partnership through the Eyes and Ears Initiative. We are able to deploy their technological resources and utilise security officers as force multipliers when conducting takedown operations.”