Cops call to outlaw gang membership

National anti-gangsterism strategy mooted in Parliament

GANG activities must be outlawed as they pose a serious threat to society. This is what the country’s top cops said at the portfolio committee on police in Parliament yesterday. General Fani Masemola, the acting national police commissioner, was speaking after a presentation about an anti-gang strategy in the Western Cape, KwaZuluNatal and the Eastern Cape. He said they wanted to propose legislation that would outlaw the formation and membership of gangs.

An anti-gang strategy was approved by the cabinet in February. In the briefing report to the committee yesterday it was said that the phenomenon of gangsterism in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape provinces was a major cause for concern, both in the security and social platforms, as it posed a serious threat to society.

“The strategy was necessitated by the growing phenomenon of gangs and gangsterism-related criminal activities, including organised crime. The framework for the National Anti-Gangsterism Strategy is based on four pillars, namely human development, social partnerships, spatial design and the criminal justice process,” according to the report.

“These should include law enforcement, social crime prevention and environmental design projects that address all factors involved in gang-related crime. The strategy is formulated and aligned to the National Development Plan (NDP) Vision 2030, to ensure that all people living in South Africa are safe. The NDP recognises that crime and violence are not just security issues, but have deep social and economical roots and consequences,” the report read.

It further stated that addressing the problem required a holistic approach and the involvement of all government departments.

Masemola said there were inter-state state links between gangs.

“Drugs mostly come from Gauteng. In the Western Cape there is more a problem of prison gangs who are giving orders to members on the outside. We closed down a laboratory in Soweto which was providing drugs to the Western Cape and North West.

“SAPS does not have specific training in dealing with drugs and is looking into getting training from other countries,” he said.

The chairman of the portfolio committee on police, Francois Beukman, said that gangsterism affected thousands of people.