The Western Cape Standing Committee on Community Safety has recently revealed that communities most affected by crime have the least amount of resources available to them. The committee has also revealed that there is a shortage of police officers in the Western Cape, which has a direct impact on community safety.
In some of the most crime-ridden areas in the Western Cape, there is only one police officer for every 700 residents, while the national average police to population ratio is 1 officer to 328 people. We believe that rampant crime will not be eliminated unless the ANC government intervenes and strengthens the SAPS in the province.
Today, our Western Cape Provincial Leader, Bonginkosi Madikizela, and the Chairperson of the Metro region, Grant Twigg took to the streets, leading a march for safer communities and the strengthening of the SAPS in the Western Cape, organized by the DA Youth.
They also handed over a memorandum to the Philippi East police station, calling for a deployment ratio of one officer to 220 residents at the 10 most violent police stations over the next 5 years. We are also calling on all detective and administrative vacancies in the Western Cape to filled, with an additional 8300 detectives employed across South Africa. Also, we call for Specialized Police Stations and Police Units dealing with gangs and organized crime to be reinstated.
While we do our best to fight crime in our communities, working with local initiatives, we have no control over the SAPS. This is because policing falls under the ANC national government. – DA Western Cape Leader Bonginkosi Madikizela