Is gang violence in the Western Cape out of control?
I wouldn’t say it's out of control. It just seems out of control because of key people being killed, like gang leader Mark Lifman.
If it's under control, how do you explain that 234 out of 270 gang-related murders in South Africa over a three-month period this year were in the Western Cape?
Yes, that’s true.
In designated hotspot areas supposedly covered by the Western Cape safety plan?
We don’t have enough crime intelligence to curb these murders.
So when is the deployment of your Leap [law enforcement advancement plan] officers to these areas going to make them safe?
We deployed them in September, to the six highest hotspot areas.
Only in September?
They were at 15 hotspot areas before but weren't making the impact we wanted, so we deployed them to six of our highest hotspot areas. There’s been a little bit of an impact, but we’ll re-evaluate in February.
How much difference will the MOU you signed with SAPS make?
We hope SAPS, the city and the provincial and national government will now work together instead of against each other.
Has that been a problem?
Yes, but with the new minister [Senzo Mchunu] it has really improved. He’s approachable and dedicated to bringing murder and crime rates down. But for the MOU to work, its implementation must be well managed.
SAPS said gang-related violence would be your joint deployment’s top priority, but it’s had no impact at all yet, has it?
I must agree. SAPS is understaffed and overworked, and that is one of the problems we must address.
How?
If nothing else works then we’ll really call for the devolution of power to the Western Cape.
You’ve been doing that for some time. Is it likely to happen?
No, at the moment it’s not going to happen, I'll be frank. The minister’s dedicated to bringing crime down in the whole of South Africa, not just in the Western Cape. I’m hoping that with the GNU it will happen.
How much oversight does the MOU give you over the police?
Full oversight. But it would really help us a lot if they brought crime intelligence to provincial level. It would help us root out corrupt police officers. Western Cape commissioner [Thembisile] Patekile has made some arrests, but we really do need more crime intelligence, and we’re also fighting for that.
Does the MOU allow you to participate in investigations and detective work?
No, unfortunately not.
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