Work harder on gangs

THE levels of gang violence on the Cape Flats are of the utmost concern. Loss of human life, people needing to dodge bullets and knives, and getting robbed of their hard-earned cash and other valuables, occurs on a daily basis.

Communities are often well aware of who the gangsters are and what gangs they belong to. Do the police have a documented profile which outlines the names, pictures, addresses and gang affiliation of the different gang members terrorising the Cape? Is it perhaps not time to request the US police force or FBI to assist our police with such an electronic database and other crime-fighting technology and strategies?

Crime-fighting initiatives such as Operation Fiela are good, but are usually only once-off and short term. Unfortunately, relatives of gangsters also seem to hamper the work of the police by shielding them against arrest and prosecution, not realising they are doing the gangsters more harm than good, and are contributing to their early demise. There should, therefore, also be a more secure platform through which families and communities can make gang-related disclosures. Sending in the army for at least twoweeks in each area should be a top priority now. Is there no act or City by-law under which confirmed gangsters (even if they are not guilty of a reported crime) may be detained indefinitely in a specialised military detention camp of some kind, with the aim of also rehabilitating them more effectively than in our prisons?