We are sorry to hear about your mother’s ordeal in the Mail & Guardian (”What are you doing to protect us, Mr Nqakula?”, February 10). Although we agree with your statement that ”crime is everywhere and affecting everyone” we restate our commitment to creating conditions of safety and security in Khayelitsha, and everywhere else.
Early in 2003, when reports emerged that the Western Cape was the capital of serious and violent crimes, the management of the police in the province felt compelled to do something about the situation. A round of strategy sessions resulted in the People Orientated Sustainable Strategy. Consequently certain interventions were put in place. We will only cite the following:
- Directors were removed from provincial office and placed at stations in order to deal with unacceptable levels of crime.
- Deployment was intensified seven days a week and crime monitored.
- Strong partnerships were forged with communities.
- Certain stations were declared priority stations, including Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain, Guguletu and Kuils River.
- Resources in the form of personnel, vehicles and equipment were allocated to priority stations, of which Khayelitsha is one.
To date Khayelitsha is serviced by three police stations, namely Lingelethu, Harare and Site B. This is a huge improvement from having had one police station servicing this community until 2003. As a result of the above interventions we were pleased to note that when crime statistics were released in September 2005, the Western Cape recorded a 7,5% reduction in contact crime.
The population of Khayelitsha is growing at an alarming rate, thus making the area difficult to police. However, we continue to give priority to the townships. In March 2005, Khayelitsha opened its operational room with state-of-the-art technology and in December, the minister for safety and security officially launched a similar operational room in Nyanga. Staff monitor the deployment of operational vehicles, thereby enhancing service delivery.
Late in 2005, the area received four quad bikes to patrol areas with no access roads such as Enkanini and Endlovini informal settlements. Khayelitsha’s latest acquisitions are two new BMW vehicles for patrolling main routes, foiling hijacking and armed robberies. These initiatives are complemented by foot patrols at identified hot spots.
In addition to the above initiatives, we have introduced sector policing, a system where communities are subdivided into smaller sectors for effective policing. Each sector is allocated a sector manager and resources. This system is working well. Currently Khayelitsha has 480 operational members, 110 vehicles and three fully-fledged police stations.
We strive towards providing quality service, but at times fall short. Hence we request people with complaints on service delivery to channel them through our complaints desk at 25 Alfred Street, Green Point, Cape Town, 8000, or to phone (021) 417 7113.
We share your sentiments: ”cops cannot be on every street corner.” That is why we count on the support of communities, as criminals live in communities.
As far as your mother’s treatment at Site B police station is concerned, we request that you provide us with details of the members who attended to her. We embrace the principles of Batho Pele and any transgressions are dealt with through our internal disciplinary procedure.
Thank you for writing to us. Your input and that of many others help us to improve the service we render to all who live in South Africa.
Trevor Bloem, director of communication, and media liaison and, Novela Potelwa, head of communication services for the Ministry for Safety and Security, South African Police Service, Western Cape
I feel as you feel
Helen Zille for the DA
It distressed me to read your letter. You have asked the Democratic Alliance for an answer about what we can do to fight crime in your community. Let me start by saying that I empathise with your situation. I have been shot at in an attempted hijacking in Khayelitsha and mugged and robbed in several other parts of the city. My children have also been hijacked at home.
I have experienced your frustration with certain police officers in Langa, Nyanga, Guguletu and Khayelitsha, and I have even laid complaints about their lack of action with the Independent Complaints Directorate, to absolutely no effect.
These experiences made me feel powerless, but they have also made me glad to be in a position to change things now. This does not mean that I will be able to solve the problems in your community straight away if I am voted in as mayor.
Cape Town currently has a 28% shortage of police detectives and a 15% shortage of police officers. And even if all these vacant posts were filled, there would still not be enough police officers to get crime under control in the city. There are also too few institutions to contain, discipline and rehabilitate the kind of young criminals that have been targeting your family.
The DA does have a realistic and practical plan to tackle these problems and we already started implementing it in the two years during which we held office in Cape Town.
One of the steps we took was to introduce the Metro Police. We felt this step was necessary since the national Department of Safety and Security was not providing adequately for the needs of people in and around the city. The Metro Police were well received and, at the time the DA lost control of Cape Town as a result of floor-crossing, the force was about 1 000 strong and growing. In the past three years, however, it has been depleted to nearly 800 police officers.
Under my leadership we will get the Metro Police back on track, and ensure the fair distribution of our law enforcement personnel. We will also review the bylaws necessary to help ensure a safe environment for everyone except the criminals. And I can promise you that while we are doing this, I will personally make sure that the police officers working in your area and the rest of the city are well managed and equipped so that they can do their jobs to the best of their ability.
What I really want to see is Khayelitsha becoming a better place to live. This is part of the DA’s bigger vision for the city, a vision that will take time to realise. But, in the meantime, we can take the first important steps by clamping down on crime.
Helen Zille is the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Cape Town