It has now been over three weeks since the Acting Minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, demanded a resourcing plan for the top 13 SAPS precincts in the Western Cape, but nothing has transpired. In that time, more children have been gunned down in the streets as victims of gang violence and organised crime that continues to thrive while critical crime-fighting resources remain absent.
Reportedly, around 90% of gang murders in South Africa take place in the Western Cape, points out Benedicta van Minnen, Democratic Alliance (DA) Western Cape Spokesperson on Police Oversight and Community Safety. “Despite this crisis, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has failed to bolster its presence in the province. Police personnel numbers have dropped from nearly 20 000 officers in 2016 to just 18 000 in 2022, even as the province’s population grew by 11.8% over the same period. This has left communities dangerously under-resourced,” van Minnen said.
In crime hotspots, the police to population ratio is now one officer for every 962 residents, compared to the national average of one for 417. The Western Cape has only 12 908 active officers and faces an average vacancy rate of 12.39%, with some precincts sitting at just over 40% of the required personal. Detectives are overwhelmed with up to 142 case dockets each, to only a shocking 7% of murders being solved.
Minister Cachalia himself admitted on Tuesday 9 September that the intelligence-driven capabilities needed to combat gang violence and organised crime in Cape Town are still not fully in place. This is a failure that is costing lives, van Minnen said.
“There is no meaningful plan from SAPS to address the growing scourge of gang violence in the Western Cape. Communities are living in fear, and law enforcement is outnumbered, outgunned, and unsupported.”
“We cannot afford politicians singing the reform and renew songs while on the ground, capacity is dololo [zero]. Every day without action is another day our communities remain vulnerable. We demand accountability, urgency, and real delivery,” van Minnen said.
The DA is demanding that:
That SAPS table and implement a comprehensive resourcing plan for the Western Cape, with immediate effect.
That municipalities with proven, localised safety solutions be granted the powers and funding required to scale up their efforts and play a greater role in local law enforcement.
“The crisis in our communities cannot be resolved through empty promises and delayed plans. We need boots on the ground, intelligence units activated, and real intergovernmental cooperation that responds to the lived realities of our people. We will not stand by while bureaucracy continues to fail our children,” van Minnen concluded.
