Fight against bank-related crimes intensifies

South African Police Service (SAPS) and the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) have recommitted themselves to cooperating in intensifying the fight against bank-related and cash-in-transit crimes.

This emerged during a high-level two-day strategic workshop in Pretoria last week.
The workshop developed a joint strategy for combating bank-related and cash-in-transit crimes and renewed the memorandum of understanding, which was first agreed upon in 2001.

To achieve the desired results, the SAPS and Sabric will, among other things, cooperate in educating the public about bank-related and cybercrimes.

Saps spokesperson, lieutenant-general Solomon Makgale. said they would also increase the capacity in the SAPS to administer cyber-related commercial crime, enhance the intelligence capabilities between the SAPS and the industry and ensure, as a matter of urgency, that the top 20 bank and cash-in-transit criminals in every province and at head office were arrested.

“The so-called ‘cold cases’ related to bank and cash-in-transit crimes will be reopened to determine whether these had been thoroughly investigated and the detectives had explored all avenues,” Makgale said.

The national commissioner of the SAPS, general Riah Phiyega, said: “We believe that part of our success lies in community policing because it enhances our ability to deliver.” She added that the SAPS would not reject the olive branch being extended by Sabric, or any other entity willing to help the SAPS in fighting crime.