Cape Flats gets new anti-gang unit thanks to national police ministry

In an effort the crush crime on the Cape Flats, the national police ministry has launched a new-anti gang unit which will be officially inaugurated on Friday.

According to a report by The Citizen, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Police Minister Bheki Cele will both be travelling to Cape Town on Friday to launch the anti-gang unit in Hanover Park. The unit is due to be deployed in gang hotspots around the greater Cape Town metro.

Cape Flats anti-gang unit a step forward by national government

The Cape Flats has long been held hostage by the scourge of gangsterism, drugs and violent crime. Recently, residents took to the streets demanding that the City of Cape Town intervene by deploying more police to affected areas, which have seen an increase in gang-related criminal activities.

All too often it’s the innocent that get caught up in a hail of gunfire as gangs battle it out in a never-ending war for territorial dominance. The Democratic Alliance (DA) have previously demanded that Cele deploy military personnel to the Cape Flats in an attempt to quell what can rightly be described as a war zone.

While Cele has been reluctant to answer the calls of the official opposition party, which governs the Western Cape, the police minister has resolved to introduce a ‘new and improved’ gang-fighting unit which, according to government statements, has already been active in the worst affected areas since 8 October.

Anti-gang unit’s operational area

According to the police ministry’s spokesperson, Reneilwe Serero, the new anti-gang unit has been, and will continue to be, operational in Cape Town’s worst hit areas. The new crimefighting squad will redouble its efforts in Nyanga, which is the murder capital of South Africa, while still assisting other embattled communities across the Cape Peninsula. Serero explained:

“The Anti-Gang Unit [which is made up of members from specialised units] has been in operation from 8 October 2018, deployed in Nyanga cluster, Bonteheuwel, and Bishop Lavis. The unit will continue to be in full operation in the Peninsula area until communities in the greater Western Cape experience a return to normality.”