Criminal syndicates targeting cars in Joburg a cause of concern

Today, residents brought to my attention their concerns regarding increased incidents of criminals targeting vehicles at a number of public spaces including shopping centers within the city.
Recently one of my senior officials had his car broken into at a secured parking lot, where two laptops, one of which contained highly sensitive City information were stolen.
High crime rates remain a challenge which plagues all our residents and my administration is doing all it can to tackle the problem within our limited resources and competency. We have invested in increasing the JMPD force by 50% and we are implementing a number of other interventions to improve our fight against crime.
Earlier this year, the City launched Operation Buya Mthetho which is aimed at bring back law and order within the City. Operation Buya Mthetho has been pivotal with over 8000 arrests by our law enforcement officials since January. This is the kind of momentum the City needs to sustain if we are indeed to fight against crime and lawlessness.
For too long, criminals were allowed to rule the City and strike fear in the hearts of our residents. We can no longer put our heads in the sand and pretend everything is okay.
In addition, the latest national job stats released yesterday are of extreme concern. As government we are tasked with creating an inductive environment of economic growth and investment in our country. This in turn will help to stimulate real job creation.
This cannot be achieved in an environment in which criminals act without fear.
Fortunately, in the most recent incident involving a City of Johannesburg official, CCTV footage was able to capture the incident as well as a close up image of one of the criminals. We are awaiting the relevant footage and as soon as it is obtained I will share this with the public and request that those with information that could lead the arrest of these criminals come forward.