The South African Police Service (SAPS) has announced that the first arrest has been made following the launch of Primedia's  national anti-crime campaign.

 

Director Sally de Beer, spokesperson for National Police Commissioner, Jackie Selebi, said that an armed robbery suspect was taken into custody at 3am today at an address in Rustenburg in the North West province.

 

"An anonymous SMS came through Primedia's 32211 number.  We were tipped-off on the whereabouts of the man who has been linked to an armed robbery. His possible involvement in other crimes will be investigated.  Police followed-up the information and made the breakthrough earlier today. The SAPS is delighted that only hours after the launch of Primedia's Crime Line, the first criminal was nabbed. National Police Commissioner, Jackie Selebi, is very pleased and has congratulated the anonymous whistle-blower, the police and Primedia,"  said de Beer.  "We are confident that this is the first of many more arrests to come," she added.

 

Primedia's national anti-crime initiative manager, Yusuf Abramjee, said: "This is fantastic. It reinforces the fact that the community can and has to play a role in making our country safer.  I can also confirm that information from across the country is pouring in. The campaign was launched on Thursday and hundreds of SMSs and online tip-offs have since been received.  This is encouraging. It shows the public has information about criminals and crimes that are to take place and they are now breaking their silence. We want to congratulate the SAPS for the first breakthrough. It came just over 24 hours after the launch," said Abramjee.

 

He added that "valuable information" was coming in to Crime Line "and I know police are working hard following-up the many leads."

 

De Beer appealed to the public to provide detailed and specific information such as names, addresses, descriptions, and if a case number is provided, to ensure that the name of the police station is also mentioned. If the information refers to a motor vehicle, the registration number, where possible, should also be added.  This is vital to ensure arrests. 

 

"Let's blow the whistle on crime," Abramjee said.

 

Safety and Security Minister, Charles Nqakula, Commissioner Selebi and South Africa's top police chiefs attended the Primedia anti-crime launch in Sandton, Johannesburg, on Thursday.

 

The public can SMS 32211 at a cost of R1 per SMS or go to www.crimeline.co.za to pass on information about criminals. It is not an emergency line and these calls must be directed to 10111. A call centre has been set up at Primedia Place. The SAPS has promised to act on all information received.

 

Selebi said he was "100 percent behind the Primedia initiative. There are 90-million eyes and ears and 45-million mouths in South Africa. You cannot tell me that there is not one person out there who cannot tell us about a crime that they have seen or heard.  I am therefore asking them to come forward and report to ensure that we no longer have to barricade ourselves in our homes," Selebi said on Thursday.

 

Primedia has put R50-million towards the project over the next year and the police pledged a further R25-million.

 

Selebi said it was the responsibility of the SAPS, the community and the media to make South Africa safer.