Police attend to over 12,000 public protests

Of these, 10,517 were peaceful and 1,882 were violent public protests, with a total of 693 criminal cases reported. This is revealed in the latest national crime statistics.

Recently, unresolved social issues have resulted in some members of the public expressing themselves through structured and non-structured public gatherings, marches and some times, public protests which have led to opportunistic criminal elements.

"Most of the cases were reported in the Western Cape and North West provinces. Currently, stability has been restored," said Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa on Thursday, 19 September 2013, during the release of the National Crime Statistics.

Over the past four years, a total of 46,180 incidents were attended to, and all were successfully stabilised, with 14,843 arrests effected.

"These include 41,104 peaceful and 5,076 unrests such as South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU), South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU), De Doorns, Marikana, Zamdela and Ratanda to mention a few," said the minister.

The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) cluster has recently reiterated that law enforcement agencies will act against anyone found to be responsible for public violence during the protests.

Mthethwa acknowledged that "more fresh and dedicated resources" are required to capacitate Public Order Police to meet these challenges.

Current initiatives, he said, include the rollout of the Provincial Crime Prevention Strategies and Mine Crime Combating Forums, which aim to bring order during public protests.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has arrested a total of 806,298 people for serious crimes in 2012/13. A total of 352,513 were successfully convicted of these serious crimes.

Of these, 609 suspects were sentenced to 826 life sentences. The Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) unit accounts for 499 of these life sentences.

About 1,586 persons were sentenced to a combined total of 2,006 years imprisonment for serious crimes.