Farm Sector Murders (SVS KZN 2010 to date)
UNSOLVED & COLD CASES
- I can now confirm that we have ten (10) COLD CASES with investigations ongoing.
2. Four (4) UNSOLVED CASES out of the five (5) for 2020 – a 20% arrest rate so far for the year to date. However, we are still in the early stages of investigations.
3. We have two SVS Echo Rewards running at R250,000 each for Malcolm Green and Edwin Mapstone. The Hawks have offered an additional R50,000 reward for Malcolm Green, i.e. a total of R300,000.
4. At the next Together SA CAN (NPO) Executive Board meeting we will discuss SVS Echo Rewards for all these cases. We simply do not have R2.5 million for the 10 cold cases, even if I wished all ten could be solved immediately, so I would like to get board approval to greenlight more of these cases.
5. We must also take into account that the Karen Turner murder is about to become a cold case in September with zero movement on the matter since her tragic death.
6. We know that in KZN our crime reduction target in this sector of the community is extremely high this year and is under threat. If we are to hold the line on the 50% reduction compared to the period of 2010 to 2019, we can’t have another murder this year.
7. In last week’s KZN Provincial meeting with the farmers, the main point that needed clarity was: the statement that the police are not responsible for hate crimes, they are responsible for crime investigation.
This is correct but needs unpacking. What this means is that we as South Africans are responsible for social cohesion strategies, building trust and building long lasting friendships with those we interact with in our daily lives.
What should also be added is we don’t appear to have hate crimes in KZN – in fact we know 100% that our largest problem is staff related and unjustified anger over dismissal, or staff that simply never return other than to commit crime which invariably is so badly planned that it results in murder.
This is the hardest crime to fight as it’s a broken trust issue with staff who hold intimate knowledge of security systems and routines which are easily by-passed because of the trust once held.
As a team, we are working on a very specific crime prevention plan to counteract this KZN Challenge compared to other provinces. This said, naturally this new plan and the tools being developed will form part of crime prevention in other provinces but will have less effect as it seems each province has its unique challenges in this sector, hate crimes being one.
The meeting was a resounding success and the commitment of all parties was evident.
I would like to THANK each and every one of you, because you make it possible to do what we do best. We cannot achieve the results we need without working totally hand-in-glove in this collaboration. THANK YOU to the SAPS, the Hawks, Crime Intelligence, NPA, AfriForum, TLU, Kwanalu and the Associations for each doing your bit. The teamwork is shining through and the results speak for themselves.
I will keep you informed as we progress.
Brian Jones (SA7)
TrackBox ERPC National & International
08616-TRACK
08616-87225
https://trackbox.world | https://t.me/BriansPD
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