In another spate of mass killings, six people were shot dead and three others injured in less than 48 hours in Cape Town. This is the third mass shooting in under three weeks on the Cape Flats. On 25 October, seven people were gunned down in Bishop Lavis, while sitting in a Wendy house. The previous day five people were shot dead in a car between Mamre and Atlantis. In these cases, police and neighbourhood activists suspect that the attacks are motivated by a continuing turf war between rival gangs.

“These deaths highlight the tragic consequences of long-standing criminal intelligence failings in the Western Cape, and they must be seen as a harsh wake-up call for the South African Police Service (SAPS). If there is to be any prospect of reducing gang violence in the Western Cape, proactive measures are needed to ensure that the SAPS in the province is properly resourced,” Thomas Walters, Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape Spokesperson on Police Oversight and Community Safety said in a statement on 5 November.

“Currently, the SAPS simply do not have enough resources to support its crime intelligence and investigative departments. The number of detectives in the Western Cape has steadily decreased in recent years, and as a result, most significant crimes remain unsolved. 77% of SAPS stations in the Western Cape experience staff shortages, while vacancy rates in some of the province’s most violent districts can reach 80%.”

Walters said that, “While the Western Cape Government has allocated resources to assist with visible policing capacity through the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP), the fight against organised violent crime can only be won if the SAPS plays its part by improving investigative capacity and providing the resources required to take the fight to criminals.

“If the SAPS is unable to fulfil their mandate in the Western Cape, the national government must devolve power over policing to a capable provincial government that stands ready to prioritise safety in our communities.”