As the Western Cape battles a surge in gang violence, Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia has embarked on a series of engagements with stakeholders to discuss policing challenges and strengthen measures to improve community safety across the province.
The engagements form part of the Cachalia programme ahead of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday.
Gang violence
The Western Cape continues to be severely affected by persistent gang violence and organised crime, which have destabilised communities and endangered lives.
In September last year, Cachalia said the state needed to use all available resources to confront gang-related crime in the Western Cape, especially at court buildings across the city.
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Taking action
Cachalia said police must take action.
“I think it’s very important for the community to be involved in this effort and to work with the police, but my message to the police is that they’ve got to redouble their efforts.
“It’s to deal with what is an evolving crime pattern. My view is that it’s not just old-style gang violence. I think this is organised crime, and the State needs to use all its available resources to confront this problem,” Cachalia said at the time.
Stabilisation plan
Following consultations with provincial stakeholders, the South African Police Service (Saps) developed a stabilisation plan to address these challenges.
However, police ministry spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi said the plan requires more time to take effect and some adjustments.
“In response, the Saps is finalising a revised stabilisation plan, which places strong emphasis on the enhanced deployment of specialised units – in addition to the existing Anti-Gang Unit – to areas most affected by gang-related violence.
“This enhanced approach aims to improve operational capability, increase police visibility, and strengthen intelligence-driven policing in hotspots across the province,” Mogotsi said.
Engagements
Mogotsi said Cachalia has met with, and will continue to meet, several civil society, religious, and community-based organisations, including the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) and the Cape Crime Crisis Coalition (C4), among others.
“As part of his ongoing programme, Mr Cachalia will meet with the Premier of the Western Cape, Mr Alan Winde as well as stakeholders in Kayamandi and Cloetesville in Stellenbosch in the coming weeks.”
Cachalia last year said the problem of gang violence is not the result of inadequate policing, adding that the solution to gang violence required “enhanced intelligence, driven policing.”
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