Cosatu holds conference on crime

People came from Bonteheuwel, Mitchell’s Plain, Ocean View and Khayelitsha among other communities.

“There’s a culture of unnecessary violence in our country, we are becoming a society which does not have the ability to protect the elderly, children and women,” said national police minister Nkosinathi Nhleko.

“There is something fundamentally wrong in society. We need to start by dealing with social circumstances because criminals are among us, they are our children, they come from our communities. Fighting crime and corruption is everyone’s responsibility. We need to focus on building a united front, we need an integrated plan,” the minister said.

In recent weeks gang violence and crime has escalated in several communities. A number of people have been killed including police.

An angry woman from Bonteheuwel said this month alone there had been about 20 funerals, all of them for youngsters. “The gangs have taken over,” she said. “Just last week, my 14-year-old son witnessed, while walking to school, a guy being shot. We have no freedom. We have to stay indoors because we are scared to go outside. Police only arrive when someone has been shot; they are not there before these things happen; they are not visible. Something needs to be done.”

Poor policing was one of the issues raised at the conference. There were complaints of officers not responding when called or disrespecting people who went to the police station to open a case.

A Mitchell’s Plain resident and shop steward said there was no police in the town centre and people were being shot there. “Police are not doing their jobs. When they are around town centre, they harass the fruit and vegetable sellers and walk past the drug dealers. They arrest people who are doing an honest living, but will not even try and arrest the drug dealers. Even when you call 10111, it goes straight to voicemail. There is no response.”

On 18 August, following an investigation into allegations of corruption by police members, detectives from the Western Cape Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks) conducted a sting operation in Mitchell’s Plain where two detectives were arrested for selling police case dockets.

Provincial Commissioner of the Western Cape Lieutenant General Arno Lamoer said safety and security in the eyes of the people was not only the responsibility of the police. “There needs to be commitment from everyone. I am not here to say that police are little angels; we are not. We can do much more and we will do more,” said Lamoer.

Lamoer urged community members to report corrupt police and if they were treated badly at police stations.

“We have up to eight protests each day in Cape Town,” said Lamoer. “As police we are expected to be there, and protests are not a police problem. But I have to deploy officers and resources to these protests. These resources can be used elsewhere to fight crime.”

“As the SAPS we welcome any partnerships from communities who want to work with us to fight crime. Let this conference not be another talk shop. Let there be change,” said Lamoer.