One province in South Africa has 7 murders per day in public places

The latest crime statistics show that the Western Cape recorded 983 murders during the last quarter, with 603 of these murders occurring in public spaces.

This means that criminals continue to operate freely in public spaces despite the deployment of SA Police Service resources.

It further showed that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) deployment in the province has not yielded a noticeable effect.

Benedicta van Minnen, the DA Western Cape’s Spokesperson on Police Oversight and Community Safety, bemoaned the situation.

She said that violent crime has a devastating impact on communities across the Western Cape province.

She added that it raises concerns about the effectiveness of the current crime-prevention strategies employed by the South African Police Service (SAPS).

“The SAPS in the Western Cape is already severely under-resourced in terms of visible policing, detectives and vehicles,” she said.

“Roadblocks and door-to-door campaigns without actionable intelligence and proper operational coordination amount to a waste of scarce policing resources.”

She said that such operations often create the appearance of action while failing to target and disrupt criminal networks.

Despite these actions, there are very few gang leaders behind bars, and they do not dismantle illicit firearms and drug supply chains.

“The Western Cape is an environment where the same offenders continuously escape justice while being responsible for the majority of violent crime,” she said.

Van Minnen called on the Minister of Police and SAPS Western Cape management to engage with community policing forums and other relevant stakeholders.

They should use this as part of a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of current crime-fighting deployment strategies.

“They must ensure that every available resource is utilised where it will have the greatest impact on reducing violent crime and protecting innocent residents,” she said.

“We need a focused, intelligence-driven policing strategy that ensures better coordination between SAPS, SANDF, and municipal law enforcement agencies.”

She said resources must be directed towards hotspot areas, known gang territories, and illegal firearm and drug trafficking routes.

“Investigations and targeted operations should focus on individuals and criminal enterprises identified through reliable crime intelligence gathering,” she said.