Special unit to tackle gang violence in Tafelsig
THE National Intervention Unit and police have been deployed to Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain to address gang violence in the area.
Mitchells Plain, Philippi East, Ravensmead, Steenberg and Worcester have all been identified as crime hot spots.
The unit is trained to respond to gang shootings. It is part of the special operations element of the police that combats serious and violent crimes.
The Mitchells Plain community policing forum (CPF) said a safety plan for the area was drawn up recently.
Deputy chairperson of the CPF Ashley Potts said: “The Mitchells Plain police will be working with the other police stations which are part of the cluster of police stations.” The police stations are: Lentegeur, Strandfontein, Philippi East, Steenberg, Athlone and Lavender Hill.
More base camp stations have been set up in Philippi East, Uitsig, Steenberg and Worcester.
Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said the proliferation of police base camps formed part of Operation Thunder and were intended to ensure a speedy and effective response to crime.
“Raids in search of wanted suspects and seizure operations, as well as intelligence-gathering are some of the activities of Operation Thunder forces. Significant milestones have been achieved since the inception of the operation, which resulted in the stabilisation of some serious crime categories.
“In some instances the visibility of these forces has served as a deterrent to wouldbe offenders. The additional deployments have also bolstered station and cluster personnel…
“In the magistrate’s courts in Athlone and Khayelitsha, a number of gang leaders have received various sentences. We hope this will deter the youth from joining gangs,” Rwexana said.