One pensioner says “I’m living here plus minus forty years and I also lost a son due to… umm, I mean he was shot 17 years ago… but you re-live it on a daily basis if you hear the gun-shots going off.”
Six months ago living in Bonteheuwel was a nightmare – shots went off in the morning, the afternoon, the evening… more than four times a day.
But something’s changed. For a good while Bonteheuwel has been quiet.
This is because on 1 July 2019, the DA-run City of Cape Town deployed 100 law enforcement officers through an initiative called the Neighbourhood Safety Team (NST).
In South Africa, policing by the South African Police Service (SAPS) is strictly under the control of the national government, only, but this initiative (which is a collaboration between the DA’s city and provincial governments) is showing that it is possible to turn the tide on horrifying gang-related violence where it seemed insurmountable before.
Bonteheuwel resident, Tasliema Jonathan, describes an incident recently when she was walking home, and a gangster was having an argument with a shopkeeper on her road and threatened to fetch a gun.
Residents say that they can feel the difference, and the murder rate reflects this. Before the NST was deployed to Bonteheuwel there were 44 gang-related murders in the area, in the space of just six months, and 70 the year before that! However, since the deployment of the NST there have been only four murders to date.
The NST is visible in an area that didn’t even have a dedicated police station. They listen to the residents of Bonteheuwel, who know what to watch out for, and when you call them they’re there in two to three minutes.
She immediately called her councillor to help her contact the NST and by the time she got to her gate they were there! “They approached me, they said to me, ‘what’s happening?’ (they are well-mannered and they know how to approach you). And you know what it was dark, it was a cold night, and, you know what, half of the road came out and they all assisted them, and went up to where the gangsters were living.”
Another resident, Francois Mackay, says that once the officers were deployed, the difference was immediate. “It’s quietened down, there’s patrolling all the time and if you phone and need assistance, or anything like that, they’re quick to respond. You always see them up and down in the roads. So it’s actually helped a lot with them being around.”
He goes on to say that “we are still fearful but just knowing that there’s help close by very quickly puts you a little more at ease … Before the kids couldn’t even walk to the shop and we would be fearful that something would happen because of innocent by-standers having been hit by shots in a cross-fire. But now it’s quietened down, and I mean my kids can go to the shop, they can play outside and ride their bicycles, those kinds of things.”
The NST initiative has brought total change to Bonteheuwel. Shops no longer close early because of gang violence and residents feel free to walk around. It’s is a perfect example of how a healthy partnership between well-resourced, understanding safety officers and a community that is happy to work with them can have a remarkable effect on making a place safer.
With such a profound reduction in gang murders, residents wonder what it would be like if the competent and hands-on NST officers had the power to make arrests like police officers…
One thing’s for certain though, if change like this can happen in Bonteheuwel, it can happen in any other area.
Before she goes, Tasliema says “I think it’s all about commitment, communication… and people are crying out there for help. So I definitely think having an NST in other areas will make a huge difference.”
For help or to tip off the team:
Call DA Councillor Angus Mckenzie on 082 444 1850 and he will pass on the message, or call the Neighbourhood Safety Team directly on 021 480 7700 or 107.