The South African Police Service (SAPS) efforts to curb the spate of kidnappings, cash-in-transit and ever increasing incidents of violent crimes have received a huge boost in its manpower.
On Thursday, the police welcomed 13 new members to join the Special Task Force (STF) operators to join in the ranks of the law enforcement agencies’ elite tactical unit.
The new members, who will add to the existing capacity that attend to ‘high risk’ operations, along with hostage situations, kidnappings, cash-in-transit robberies and illicit mining, have, according to the police, undergone and successfully completed the 37th Special Task Force Selection Training Programme.
The unit deals mainly with high risk operations that fall beyond the scope of general policing which requires a specialised skills set.
In officially welcoming the incoming new members at the Special Task Force parade held in Pretoria, Deputy National Commissioner for Policing, Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili stressed the significance of bolstering the police service with members that were loyal, disciplined, upright in character, patriotic and willing to serve the country with pride and dignity.
“Best wishes for what lies ahead, and more importantly, on the journey you are about to embark on. I have no doubt that you are equal to the tasks that you will be required to perform. All of us have every confidence in you that you will have meaningful and successful careers as STF members,” Mosikili added.
The addition of the new members should provide South Africans with some level of comfort given how the whole country has been left shocked following recent reports of the kidnapping of two teenagers outside a school in Brits this week.
The pair were reportedly on their way to school when armed men in a vehicle crashed into their car and kidnapped them. Reports have suggested that the teenagers come from a wealthy family.
Over and above that, however, in late 2023, private security companies warned of a spike in kidnappings in the country with over 3 600 cases recorded in the last quarter alone.
SAPS statistics did not paint a better picture as they also pointed to as many as 3 641 cases of kidnapping registered in South Africa in the first quarter of 2023/2024 (April to June 2023).
The Star