Pressure for better policing grows

THE BATTLE for increased policing resources in townships is set to take centre stage at the Western Cape High Court with the South African Police Service (SAPS) given until tomorrow to file its answering affidavits.

The Social Justice Coalition (SJC), together with Equal Education and the Nyanga Community Policing Forum, filed their court papers last year in the matter, which seeks to compel police management at top level to better equip and resource police stations in poorer neighbourhoods.

The SJC had previously commented it appeared not even the high murder rates in Khayelitsha and Nyanga were enough to spur more action in the fight against crime in those areas.

According to the 2015/16 statistics, 369 people were murdered in Khayelitsha, which included the Harare and Lingelethu West townships. Nyanga recorded 279 murders, Delft 143 and Camps Bay one.

President Jacob Zuma undertook a surprise visit to the Nyanga police station on Tuesday, but some of the president’s utterances did not strike a chord with the SJC.

Senior researcher Dalli Weyers said Zuma’s comments revealed a “disconnect between the president and the community he chose to engage with”.

Zuma, who described Cape Town as the murder and drugs capital, said he could not understand why the conviction rates against perpetrators of crime were low.

“Is it because they have got good lawyers? Or is it because the law is not more in favour of the citizens, or the law is weaker? I’m trying to find out,” the president told the station’s police bosses.

To this, Weyers responded: “The president’s attempt to pin the blame for the alarming lack of safety and security in Nyanga on vague, non-specified laws ironically only serves to further erode the rule of law. This attempt also does a disservice to the community of Nyanga and shows a disregard for what they have identified as a contributing factor to the high-levels of crime. Under President Zuma’s watch, the SAPS has not had sound or principled leaders.” –