“We put the 83 people murdered in one week in the Western Cape squarely in front of Minister of Police Bheki Cele’s door,” said Ian Cameron, director of community safety at Action Society. “It is atrocious and another proof of his failure to lead the Police Department in preventing crime.”
Cele announced the shocking Western Cape crime statistics this week. Most of these murders are gang-related.
“Gang violence has been a huge problem in the Western Cape for decades,” Cameron said. “There should have been an effective strategy to prevent gangsterism and the crime that goes with it years ago. Unfortunately, the imbizos Cele is so fond of do not equate strategies to eradicate and prevent crime.”
The police’s failure to prevent gang-related activities can be ascribed to the following:
- The anti-gang unit is basically nonexistent;
- Members in the anti-gang unit are not adequately trained or experienced in handling gangsterism; and
- There is a severe lack of crime intelligence actions by the police.
“These statistics are an acknowledgement of incompetence and proof that Cele’s refusal to devolve powers to provincial governments is wrong and very costly,” Cameron concluded.
Support Action Society’s petition to remove Cele as Minister of Police here.
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