Law enforcement fighting tooth and nail to rid Cape Town of crime stigma
She was responding to billionaire businessman Johann Rupert's comments at the White House last week. Rupert mentioned the Cape Flats as a place with the highest murder rate, adding that it was experiencing gang warfare.
Despite seeing a drop in murders between January and March this year, the Western Cape is still one of the four provinces with the highest number of murders reported. The Western Cape crime statistics released on Monday show a decrease of 44 murders for the period under review compared to the same period last year. Murders went from 1,112 from January to March 2024, to 1,068 during the same period in 2025. Marais said law enforcement agencies were trying their best to take the numbers even lower. "We do have our Anti-Gang Unit and a strategy that we are looking at. Our LEAP [Law Enforcement Advancement Plan] officers really did fantastic work with SAPS [South African Police Service], and there was a decrease in the crime rate, specifically in some areas."
Gang violence has been identified as the number two reason for the high number of murders in the province.
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IOL News
20 minutes ago
- IOL News
Mchunu faces backlash over R120. 8 billion police budget
Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu said they have prioritised budget allocation to Gauteng, KZN, Western Cape, and the Eastern Cape, where crime is concentrated. Image: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on Friday said the parties that did not support the budget for his department were unrealistic and reacting excessively. 'Those who say they don't support the budget, what they mean is that in the areas and homes where they come from, they want us to withdraw the services that are there. Your reaction says what you say is unrealistic. It is being excessive unnecessarily,' Mchunu said. He made the statement when responding to the budget debate for SAPS, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, and the Civilian Secretariat for Police Service after presenting the department's R120.8 billion budget for 2025/26. Mchunu said they appreciated the allocation, but was under no illusion about the scale of the task ahead. 'The work that needs to be done far exceeds the resources available. Crime is adaptive, dynamic and, in many cases, well-financed and so must our response be.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Mchunu said of the total allocation, R219.2 million was for securing the G20 conference scheduled for November, R400m for the 2026 local government elections, and R34.8m to support the costs associated with the appointment of an additional deputy minister as well as R150m for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI). The salaries and benefits of employees take a huge chunk of the total budget. The minister said they have prioritised budget allocation to Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and the Eastern Cape, where crime is concentrated. 'It is clear that identified high crime zones in all four provinces require intelligence-led targeted deployment of specialised units to combat criminality, over and above Operation Shanela. A total of 225 hotspot police stations have been identified, demanding targeted and synchronised interventions." A total of R85 million has been allocated to support the top 30 high-contact crime stations. MK Party MP David Skosana said South Africans were betrayed by the institutions meant to safeguard them. 'SAPS and IPID fail in their mandate to protect and be held accountable,' he said. Skosana said SAPS was supposed to serve the people, but there were horrifying crimes against women and children, while the detection rate for murder was at a critically low level. 'This budget, if passed in the current form, is a death sentence. Thousands of South Africans will continue to be failed by the State.' Skosana observed that R72bn was channelled towards administration, R24bn to detectives, and R1.7bn to the forensic science laboratories. EFF MP Leigh-Ann Mathys said SAPS was a criminal syndicate where there was institutionalised criminality. 'If there is no urgent reform, there is nothing that is going to happen. You can hire as many more young recruits, these young recruits will be recruited into criminality that is deeply embedded in SAPS,' Mathys said. ACDP leader Kenneth Meshoe decried the mass arrest of senior police officials and said that despite an increase in the budget, there were systemic failures. DA MP Ian Cameron said effective policing should have integrity as its foundation. 'We should be able to say it must be a practical commitment to make,' he said. In response, Mchunu said 5,500 police trainees were receiving training at the various SAPS academies nationwide. 'We have advertised for the recruitment of 5,500 police trainees, who will commence with their training between January and February 2026. On the 30th of June, we introduced the online electronic recruitment system, allowing for applicants to apply online – a first for the organisation.' He also said the DPCI will strengthen its focus on national priority crimes, including serious corruption, cybercrime, and unresolved cases linked to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The DPCI will also undertake a comprehensive recruitment drive in 2025/26 with internal advertisement of 300 posts through a post-promotion process, 250 police trainees with qualifications in law, forensic investigation, and information technology will be placed within the directorate. 'The DPCI has also advertised 85 posts externally and plans to advertise a further 175 posts to capacitate the DPCI, including to attract skills such as forensic accountants, IT specialists, and financial investigators.' Mchunu added that before the end of this year, a temporary forensic science laboratory would be functional in KwaZulu-Natal. 'It will be helpful in terms of reducing backlogs that pile up in Gauteng,' he said. Mchunu also mentioned that negotiations were under way with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to establish an additional forensic science laboratory. 'We hope this will go a long way to meet our obligations,' he added.
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
‘Police are the chief criminal syndicate': Saps R120bn budget criticised by MPs
Members of Parliament expressed their concerns about corruption in the police service. MPs have sharply criticised the police's budget, with several voicing concerns over persistent corruption in the South African Police Service (Saps). On Friday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu presented the department's budget for the 2025-2026 financial year at the Good Hope Chamber in Cape Town. The presentation was followed by a debate in which MPs scrutinised both the spending plan and annual performance targets. Mchunu tables Saps budget In his address, Mchunu highlighted the police's key priorities, which include reducing the murder rate, tackling gang violence, addressing gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) and rooting out corruption. To support these goals, he said several critical enablers had been identified to bolster the crime-fighting strategy. These include strengthening crime intelligence, enhancing forensic services and upgrading infrastructure such as police stations. 'This budget is about improved policing,' Mchunu told MPs. The total allocation for Saps stands at R120.89 billion. ALSO READ: 'No arrest warrant for police crime boss Fannie Masemola', IDAC says Specific allocations include R219.2 million to secure the G20 conference in November 2025, R400 million for the 2026 local government elections and R34.8 million to cover the appointment of an additional deputy minister. Additionally, R150 million is being reallocated from Saps' operational budget to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks. Mchunu also announced the recruitment of 5 500 new police trainees in January 2026. 'Additionally, 250 police trainees with qualifications in law, forensic investigation and information technology will be placed in the directorate [Hawks] upon completion of their training.' Watch the budget vote debate below: The minister emphasised the need for targeted, intelligence-led deployments in high-crime zones across four provinces, including Gauteng and the Western Cape. He highlighted that R85 million was earmarked for the top 30-plus five high-contact crime stations. Community engagement efforts will receive R28 million for community policing forums (CPFs) and R8.5 million for initiatives such as imbizos. A significant R1.6 billion is allocated to combat GBVF. Infrastructure investment includes R670 million for constructing and upgrading police stations, R20 million for procuring and converting vehicles to enhance mobile service centres and R45 million for day-to-day maintenance of existing facilities. Saps budget criticised While ANC MP Erald Cloete expressed support for the budget, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party MP David Skosana rejected the spending plan, saying that South Africans were being 'betrayed by the very same institutions meant to safeguard them'. He accused both Saps and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) of failing in their mandates. Skosana likened the country's crime levels to a war zone and condemned the lack of accountability. 'It is a chilling indictment of a police service that has lost control,' he said on Friday. He warned that if the budget is passed, it would amount to a 'death sentence' for citizens. Skosana also said Ipid's annual performance targets, particularly regarding rape and corruption cases, were 'laughable', 'inadequate' and reflected what he described as an under-resourced institution. He highlighted Ipid's backlog of 10 500 cases and slammed its proposed R428.6 million budget. 'Only R9 million was allocated for forensic investigators. We are essentially throwing a glass of water on a forest fire. [It is] pure strategic failure.' READ MORE: Police sergeant arrested in Kamogelo Baukudi kidnapping case issued suspension letter The MK party member further took aim at Saps' administrative budget. 'R72 billion is set aside for administration, much of which goes to a bloated management structure and a system that seems more interested in sustaining itself than saving the public.' Moreover, Skosana condemned the lack of a concrete strategy to fight internal corruption. 'The so-called lifestyle audits mentioned in the budget are nothing more than a PR exercise. 'Officers implicated in criminality continue to rise through the ranks, protected by political connections and institutionalised silence.' He called for urgent action to reduce case and DNA backlogs, hire more officers and tackle corruption effectively. 'Chief criminal syndicate' Democratic Alliance MP Lisa‐Maré Schickerling also criticised the budget, calling it 'obscene' in the face of the police's declining credibility and rising crime statistics. 'One must ask, are we funding public safety or institutional failure? The reality on the ground is devastating,' she said. Schickerling raised alarm over South Africa's high GBV rates and Ipid's plan to only address 35 rape cases this year. 'That's not a plan, that's an admission of defeat and a resignation letter addressed to every woman that the system has failed.' Despite her concerns, she acknowledged there were some positives in the proposed budget. EFF MP Leigh‐Ann Mathys also rejected the budget, expressing scepticism that it would lead to any real reduction in crime. 'Minister, even if we add your President [Cyril] Ramaphosa's Phala Phala dollars, it is not going to help,' she said. READ MORE: Corruption crisis deepens within Gauteng police force Mathys warned that the reported dysfunction in Saps was a 'tip of the iceberg'. 'If we continue down this path, South Africa is going to lead the world in committing mob justice purely because the police are the chief criminal syndicate,' the EFF MP said. 'We have a history of high-ranking Saps officials caught with their hands in the cookie jar of corruption,' Mathys added. IFP MP Russel Cebekhulu echoed concerns about police corruption, referring to recent arrests of senior crime intelligence officers, including the division's head, Dumisani Khumalo. 'This undermines public trust and threatens the integrity of policing in South Africa,' Cebekhulu said.
Daily Maverick
2 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Fourteen suspects arrested for Mitchells Plain gang shootings that left five dead, seven injured
Following three separate gang shootings in Mitchells Plain, which killed five people and injured seven others, 14 suspects aged between 20 and 39 were arrested in connection with the murders and attempted murders. The shootings are believed to be linked to an ongoing turf war in the area. The Mitchells Plain gang violence that left five dead and seven injured occurred in Beacon Valley, Tafelsig and Town Centre on Thursday, 3 July 2025, during the school holiday when many children were playing outside and in harm's way. Mitchells Plain is among the red zone areas in the Cape Flats and to protect the safety of officials, ambulance crews are not allowed to enter red zone areas without a South African Police Service (SAPS) escort. According to police spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa, the shooting started at about 12.30pm on Thursday. 'Five people were shot at in a tuckshop in Beacon Valley. Two died and three were injured. Also in Beacon Valley, four more people were shot at in another tuckshop. One died, while three others were wounded. 'In the third shooting incident, another person was shot and injured in Beacon Valley. In two other shooting incidents that occurred in Tafelsig and Town Centre, two fatalities were recorded respectively,' Potelwa said. Residents were terrified and took to social media to call on the police to intervene and quell the violence. All the incidents, Novela said, were believed to be gang-related, and the police immediately initiated a manhunt for the suspects, with multidisciplinary deployments bolstering their efforts to prevent further violence and to arrest those responsible for these heinous acts. Norman Jantjies, the chairperson of the Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum (CPF), has stated several times that residents are under siege and that the violence is affecting households throughout the neighbourhood. His calls for urgent collaboration between law enforcement agencies and residents to fight the problem of gang violence appear to have been fruitless. Successful hunt for suspects Elaborating on the hunt for the suspects, police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk on Friday stated that from 2pm on Thursday to 2am on Friday, SAPS members were divided into teams, and areas such as Beacon Valley, Tafelsig and Portlands were targeted, and several houses were searched. According to Van Wyk, a total of 43 houses suspected of being affiliated with gang members were searched. At one house, a licensed 9mm Norinco pistol and ammunition were confiscated. 'Fourteen suspects aged between 20 and 39 were arrested for murder and attempted murder, and a 30-year-old suspect was arrested for the illegal possession of ammunition. 'Five firearms and an assortment of ammunition were confiscated, and seven suspects aged between 17 and 46 were arrested for the possession of unlicensed firearms and prohibited firearms and ammunition,' he said. Western Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile applauded the SAPS members and said that these operations would continue until he was satisfied that the perpetrators had been brought to book and calm had been restored to the area. Meanwhile, City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security JP Smith condemned the incidents and emphasised that the shootings in Mitchells Plain were a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of communities. The Safety and Security Directorate, Smith said, was working closely with the SAPS and additional staff members had been deployed to the area on Thursday, including officers attached to the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan, the Metro Police Tactical Response Unit and the Traffic Services' Roadblock Unit. All the suspects are due to appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate's Court on Monday, 7 July, on their respective charges. DM
