Delivering his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) in parliament on Thursday night, Ramaphosa announced that 7,000 new police trainees have been enlisted country-wide in 2020 to strengthen local policing.  

In 2019 the country saw about 5000 police trainees graduating with 218 of those graduating from the province at an event held at the Dr Rantai Molemela stadium in Bloemfontein. 

For many years now police in the province have had to deal with rife gang violence that terrorised residents in towns such as Welkom and Viljoenskroon, among others.

 “To improve the quality of general and specialised SAPS investigations, the government will establish a Crime Detection University in Hammanskraal,” Ramaphosa said.

OFM News previously reported that former provincial commissioner, Moeketsi Sempe, in 2019 said that measures introduced by police in the province to combat gang-related violence yielded results - with gang-related murders reduced by 20 instances over the 2018/19 financial year. 

Sempe said the police also managed to apprehend 233 members of different gangs in 2018/19, a feat they are proud of. 

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa also said that over the past six months, the nation has been galvanized across communities, government, civil society, religious groupings, the judiciary and parliament – to end the crisis of violence perpetrated by men against women. 

OFM News previously reported on several cases where women and children were found murdered by those known to them in Central South Africa (CSA).

In 2018, a report presented in parliament before the Portfolio Committee on Police said the Free State was the province with the second-highest percentage of women murdered in the country.

OFM News