Calls for more police resources in Delft after recent shootings
Cape Town - Subcouncil 5 chairperson Stuart Pringle has called on the national government for additional police resources in the Delft area.
Pringle said two weeks into October there had been at least nine people killed in shootings in Delft, as reported by the local neighbourhood watches.
In the latest incident, a father was killed and a young child seriously wounded. The baby was on her mother’s back and was struck when shots rang out on Thursday night last week.
On October 5, two people were killed, including the 32-year-old daughter of the area’s anti-crime activist who was caught in an alleged gang rivalry. These incidents occurred 90 minutes apart.
Pringle said that the neighbourhood watch volunteers, with the support of the subcouncil, do what they can to make communities safer.
Baca Juga
He said the City and province’s deployment of LEAP (Law Enforcement Advancement Plan) officers had assisted in the fight against crime, however, the need for increased police resources in the area remained.
He said visits to the police station in Delft by councillors and civil society movements had highlighted this need.
“Besides the tragic impact on families which crime has, the lack of adequate policing creates conditions where feedback cannot be provided to residents about service delivery issues.
“During the past week, an important feedback meeting about the subcouncils' engagements with Eskom in Delft had to be postponed due to shootings. It is the primary responsibility of the state to create safe environments for communities and this requires the additional resources which only the SAPS can currently provide, in the absence of devolved police powers,” he said.
Pringle said devolving police powers to local and provincial levels was imperative and the national government can no longer ignore the cries of communities buckling under the strain of crime.
Community activist Farida Ryklief said they dedicate their time to ensure the safety of the community, not thinking that it would hit them personally.
Voorbrug Neighbourhood Watch spokesperson, Susan Jantjies, said: “We are so fed up. The government makes plans for us, and we are not consulted on anything.
“We might be the next target because the person who shot the 32-year-old girl is well known to the community because he stays around.”
mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za
0 Response to "Calls for more police resources in Delft after recent shootings"
Post a Comment