Call for more resources to fight crime

More resources are needed to fight crime, residents from various communities said at a public meeting attended by the new Police Minister Senzo Mchunu, in Hanover Park, at the weekend.

The meeting at Voorspoed Primary School on Saturday came a day after a Law Enforcement officer was injured when officers were attacked as they tried to apprehend a gunman in Hanover Park on Friday.

“The officer was shot by an alleged gang member he was pursuing at the time. He was also stoned by other alleged gang members,” said Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais in a statement.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said the officers had arrested a suspect and secured a firearm before “a large part of the community turned on the officers and began assaulting them including throwing bricks at them”.

Officers had fled the scene and Law Enforcement vehicles had been damaged, he said.

Hanover Park Community Police Forum chairman Cameron Weldon said the seized gun had been taken by someone in the commotion, and the suspect was still at large.

At Saturday’s meeting, attended by some 300 people, Mr Mchunu said the gun must be found.

“That firearm is part of the firearms we are complaining about where more than half of the murders are being committed with firearms that are illegal. Who took it and where it is now? The people of Hanover Park will have to tell us. They will have to produce that firearm.”

In a video on social media, Mr Smith has urged anyone with information to come forward, noting there is a R20 000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman.

At Saturday’s meeting, Francina Lukas, the chairwoman of the Western Cape Community Police Forum Board, said a long-term strategy involving all government departments was needed to tackle crime.

“This must be a partnership between the police and community, based on respect... By working together we can overcome challenges and achieve a crime-free society,” she said.

National police commissioner General Fannie Masemola said SAPS tactics to fight gangsterism included community involvement.

“Together we and the CPF and community leaders have to deal with this violence and bring it to an end. We need input from the community.”

Provincial police commissioner General Thembisile Patekile said common complaints from the public related to a lack of feedback on cases, aggressive officers and too few police stations.

Reverend Graham Siebritz, of Hanover Park, said crime was becoming so common that communities were becoming desensitised to it.

Some saw crime as a means of survival, and criminal behaviour had become embedded in the culture of society, he said.

“The gangs are taking over the responsibility of the state to protect and provide services. Gangs spill over into communities and have become the state operators. We need a comprehensive approach to service delivery. It is the absence of stakeholders that has caused the decay,” he said.

Elsies River CPF chairman Hamish Arries said gangsterism was everywhere and people felt unsafe.

“Our homes are not even safe. There is a lack of resources. We have a lack of leadership. There is no communication from SAPS with Elsies River CPF.”

Macassar CPF member Marlon Solomons said the police station had been understaffed for more than 20 years.

“How can you expect seven people on a shift to attend to the entire Macassar precinct? Often officers are off sick, and four officers must do the whole precinct. We've asked for more manpower, but nothing. Macassar is a dumping ground for bodies. Murders happened elsewhere, and bodies are dumped here.”

Muizenberg CPF member Heidi Goodman said the Muizenberg police station had been flooded in recent heavy rains.

“People in holding cells have their feet in water; this cannot continue. The fence around the station is falling down. Gangsters and vagrants are living behind the station. There are no lights outside of the station and often inside it doesn’t work. The switchboard doesn’t work either so the community can’t call directly. We are lucky if we get four people on a shift. Yesterday we had one SAPS vehicle to police the entire Muizenberg area.”