Civil Security

AI not the silver bullet – yet

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Nothing on earth is as fast as the speed at which Artificial Intelligence (AI) experts have appeared and security companies have added those two...

Better policing in South Africa is well within reach

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Imagine a South Africa where policing worked and people were safe. Imagine that by the country’s next national polls in 2029, voters knew that...

Precision policing: a vital element of reducing firearm crime

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Mass killings have wreaked havoc in numerous South African communities in recent months. Along with the devastating murder of 18 people in Lusikisiki in...

South Africa – and others – watching developments in Mozambique

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It’s not only South Africa as an immediate neighbour keeping a weather eye on Mozambique where post-election protests and violence are ongoing. The European Union...


Cattle rustling: a lifeline for Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin

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In Africa, transnational cattle rustling – the forceful theft of livestock for illicit commercial gain – is increasingly linked to organised criminal and terrorist...

Only 47 000 out of 1.2 million rounds of looted ammunition recovered since July...

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In response to questions raised regarding the looting of ammunition in the Mobeni industrial area of Durban during the July 2021 unrest, Minister of...

Rogue and incompetent officers weakening stability of the SAPS – Cameron

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The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, has called on senior management within the South African Police Service (SAPS) to cease...

Police making headway in fight against illicit mining – Masemola

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In the past couple of days, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has led a recovery operation in Sabie, Mpumalanga, to rescue illegal miners...

The violent underworld of Stilfontein’s zama zamas

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Late on the night of 24 November, 14 zama zamas surfaced from deep underground at a disused mine in Stilfontein, where a major operation...

Collaboration is key to eradicating crime – Vumacam COO Michael Varney

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Vumacam, a leader in advanced surveillance technology, is revolutionising public safety through its extensive network of cameras and its strategic partnerships with both the...

Police Committee concerned about SAPS personnel shortages

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The Portfolio Committee on Police has raised serious concerns regarding the South African Police Service’s (SAPS’s) recruitment and retention strategies, along with the slow...

Data-driven strategies take centre stage at policing conference

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The transformative potential of evidence-based policing was at the heart of discussions at the Evidence-Based Policing South Africa Conference, held in Cape Town on...

More Gauteng traffic wardens complete military training

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A passing out parade in the Northern Cape capital Kimberley this week boosted the numbers of Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi’s crime/traffic warden corps by...

Stilfontein zama zamas likely have Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to resist take-down

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A hellish picture worthy of a Tolkien fantasy novel is emerging of the Stilfontein zama zama crisis – including improvised explosive booby-traps illegal miners...

Stilfontein’s dangerous and desperate illegal mining industry

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When zama zamas go hungry deep underground in the abandoned mines where they illegally mine for gold, they sometimes resort to eating a mixture...

Crime beginning to decrease says Mchunu, but DA says more work to be done

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Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu has released the second-quarter crime statistics and highlighted progress and challenges experienced by the South African Police Service (SAPS),...

Sandton Central’s high-tech CCTV network takes shape

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Sandton Central, known as South Africa’s commercial hub, is home to a wide array of national and international corporate offices, financial services, businesses, and...

Nigeria strives to contain banditry problem

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On Christmas Day in 2023, fighters commonly called “bandits” killed more than 115 people in northern Nigeria. The bandits destroyed more than 220 homes...

Foreign Nationals account for 11% of the incarcerated population says DCS

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The increase in arrests of foreign nationals has seen a noticeable impact on resources for the Department of Correction Services (DCS). In response to...

Defence Minister to visit Stilfontein as significant number of illegal miners remain underground

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Defence and Military Veterans Minister Angie Motshekga, together with Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, will this morning (Friday 15 November) visit the North West Province...

Nearly 400 SAPS firearms missing in six months

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Police officers lost or were robbed of 371 service firearms in the six-month period between October last year to March 2024. This is according to...

Experts urge Nigeria to target bandits’ finances

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For at least 25 years, bandits have plagued northern Nigeria, terrorizing and stealing from residents, recruiting new members, and driving the region’s chronic insecurity. Experts...

Vala Umgodi teams force over 1000 miners to resurface

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The South African Police Service (SAPS) has announced, through Operation Vala Umgodi, that since 18 October 2024, 1 004 illegal miners have resurfaced and...

Days of private prisons in SA numbered

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South Africa currently has two private prisons, one of them infamous for the Thabo Bester escape, and the Department of Correctional Services will not...

Successful Op Vala Umgodi deployment ends in North West province after hundreds apprehended

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South Africa’s North West was the proverbial “happy hunting ground” for soldiers deployed as part of the SA Army Light Modern Brigade (LMB) supporting...

Police training and recruitment need to be improved – ISS

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Recruitment, training, and promotions within the South African Police Service (SAPS) have been sub-optimal, with serious consequences on the professionalism and management of the...

ISS backs Fivaz call to completely restructure, re-purpose declining SAPS

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The Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS) has fully backed the call by first National Commissioner of the new South African Police Service (SAPS)...

Next batch of Amapanyaza report at 3 SAI

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3 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion in Kimberley received another batch of trainee Gauteng crime prevention/traffic wardens for eight weeks of “military type” training. The Northern...

SAPS looking for a new armoured troop carrier

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The South African Police Service (SAPS) recently issued a tender for a new armoured troop carrier, fitted with Mobile Adjustable Rescue/Assault System (MARS) to...

DA calls for body cameras to monitor KZN police after 107 suspects killed in...

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With an average of nine suspects killed each month by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) between July 2023 and July...

Crime statistics: who are we to believe?

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Once again, statistics on crime from the country’s two most important sources wildly contradict each other. South African Police Service (SAPS) crime statistics do...

Government losing 1 800 firearms a year to criminals

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There are 2.2-million firearms owned by 502 state entities in South Africa. Of these, an estimated 1 800 are being lost or stolen every...

SADC commits to ending terrorism and violent extremism

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Efforts to end terrorism and violent extremism in southern Africa have been boosted by way of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) entered into between...

Police recover 200+ firearms out of more than seven thousand stolen

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Minister Senzo Mchunu’s SA Police Service (SAPS) recovered less than five percent of the recorded 7 653 stolen and 588 lost firearms in the...

Concerning crime figures revealed in key Stats SA report

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Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) conducted the Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey (GPSJS) from April 2023 to March 2024. The GPSJS is a...

Suicide bombings in Nigeria: tactic is back after a four-year break – security researcher...

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Nigeria’s first suicide bombing since 2020 took place in June 2024 with four coordinated attacks that killed at least 30 people. The attacks took place...

Fidelity fully operational with 75% success rate at Transnet

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The Fidelity Group continues its successful security operation at Transnet, despite a probe into a reportedly R2 billion tender, on which key sectors of...

Contact crime on the rise in four provinces

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Senzo Mchunu, the Minister of Police, released South Africa’s quarterly crime stats on Friday, 30 August, indicating crime is on the rise, with contact...

SA’s increasing crime figures “tell sobering story”

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Crime is generally on the increase and crimes that are of concern include murder, rape, hijacking, kidnapping for ransom payments, and extortion. This is according...

Amapanyaza passing out parades at four SA Army units

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Four SA Army bases hosted passing out parades for the latest intake of Gauteng traffic wardens, referred to as “crime prevention wardens (CPWs)” by...

Counterfeit dollars, illegal foreigners and ammunition found during police op in Durban

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At least 123 undocumented foreign nationals were arrested during an early integrated operation that also saw the recovery of counterfeit US dollars equivalent to...

SAPS intercepts convoy carrying R1 million in Illicit cigarettes

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Officers of the Limpopo Provincial Flying Squad have intercepted a convoy of five “high-powered vehicles” loaded with illicit cigarettes, and following a high-speed pursuit,...

More weapons theft from SAPS facilities “a security crisis”

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Theft of, among others, stun grenades from an SA Police Service (SAPS) base in Eerste Rivier is, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA), part...

Police Committee, stakeholders agree on pathway to greater police accountability

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The Portfolio Committee on Police has announced an agreement with critical stakeholders within the policing portfolio to work together towards strengthen the accountability of...

Police commit to clamping down on gang violence and extortion in Eastern Cape

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The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, has deployed extra capacity to the Eastern Cape province to clamp...

Home Affairs deports Libyan nationals

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The Department of Home Affairs has concluded the deportation of the 95 Libyans who were arrested in White River, Mpumalanga, last month on suspicion...

Home Affairs hopes to deport 95 Libyans ‘swiftly’

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The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has withdrawn its charges against the 95 Libyan nationals arrested on 26 July at an illegal military training camp...

Sudan’s army has been battling to keep Darfur’s El Fasher from paramilitary forces –...

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The ongoing conflict in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is complex. It’s rooted in weak state institutions, ethnic diversity...

Angola’s crackdown on protesters could fuel separatist violence

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On 30 July, an Angolan court sentenced 198 people – men, women and the elderly – to four to eight years in jail for...

8594 vacancies at SAPS Detective Services a “big concern”

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The South African Police Service currently has a vacancy of 8594 within the Detective Services, which is a big concern due to South Africa’s...