What Ian Cameron of Action Society said to make Bheki Cele lose it

POLITICS

1. Community members mandated Action Society to assist with GBV cases where the police failed to investigate and ensure convictions and speak on their behalf.
2. Speaking to Bheki Cele, Minister of Police, Ian Cameron said he is failing his mandate to ensure the community’s safety. At the same time, he talks about the Constitution, parallel structures, CPF and neighbourhood watches.
3. Cameron says he does not see Cele patrolling at night like the people at the meeting wearing their yellow jackets – not supplied by the police but by the municipality – and without a six-car motorcade and bodyguards.
4. He praises the women in the meeting who do it alone because they are brave and won’t sit and wait for the government to do it for them.
5. Cameron points out that the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town were not invited, even though they post people on the streets.
6. Gugulethu has 600 people per police member, while the UN average requires 300 per 1 member. Cameron says it is unacceptable.

NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCHES

7. Cameron says Cele puts down neighbourhood watches in favour of CPFs.
8. He continues that Cele does not understand the police policies and refers to the object of CPFs. CPFs were never supposed to be operational structures; instead, foreign crime-fighting entities, including local government, law enforcement, schools and churches, who come together to combat crime.
9. Cameron says Cele is against devolution but fails his own people.
10. Cameron mentions cases where police failed, and families called on Action Society to step in.
11. He says Action Society care for the community, patrol with the community and give them training, while Cele makes it a political thing.
12. Community applauds.
13. Cameron invites Cele to go on patrol with them tonight, but without a bodyguard or a grand car and in his regular clothes.
14. He says the minister is removed from the reality the community faces.

POLICE RESOURCES

15. Cameron says the police don’t have the resources to protect the community adequately.
16. He says the detectives working the GBV desks in these clusters have 300 dockets on their table.
17. He continues that many of these detectives are constables straight from college without any experience.

MEN IN THE COMMUNITY

18. Cameron calls on the men of the community to step up.