 South African police commanders will have to submit monthly reports |
Women and children will be moved out of South Africa's prisons to make way for hardened criminals, a minister says. This is part of a major reform of police and prison structures to tackle high crime levels, said Security Minister Charles Nqakula.
He also said that many of the country's most wanted criminals had been arrested in a recent crackdown, however he did not give precise numbers.
South Africa has one of the world's highest rates of violent crime.
Earlier this year, Mr Nqakula sparked controversy when he told opposition MPs that if they wanted to "whinge" about crime, they could leave the country.
He also told police to "ride donkeys" to get to crime scenes, instead of complaining that they did not have vehicles.
As part of the shake-up, Mr Nqakula said that every police station, commander and province would have to submit monthly reports of their progress in the fight against crime.
But the crackdown would lead to an increase in the number of prisoners, he said.
"We need to [find] places that can be converted into safe and secure facilities to keep children who are in trouble and women [with non-violent and less serious cases]... so that we open up space for these hardened criminals."
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