[FILE] The additional law enforcement officers deployed to stabilise gang-ridden areas of the Cape Town metro on Friday 16 October have received praise. Photo: City of Cape Town.
[FILE] The additional law enforcement officers deployed to stabilise gang-ridden areas of the Cape Town metro on Friday 16 October have received praise. Photo: City of Cape Town.
Law Enforcement officials in the City of Cape Town have praised the efforts of crime fighting forces who were deployed over the weekend to bring stability to the metro’s gang-ridden communities, proudly announcing that there were no shooting incidents in Hanover Park since Friday 9 October.
An additional 60 law enforcement officers were deployed and tasked with ensuring that the recent spate of gang-related violence engulfing the community was brought to a halt, and efforts to reap similar returns in the Milnerton and Joe Slovo areas seem to have also borne fruit.
Gang-ridden Cape Town communities ‘stabilised’
Western Cape Minister of Community Safety, Albert Fritz, said that the Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers deployed to the five Areas-Based Teams (ABT) in Hanover Park, Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Bishop Lavis and Delft had made numerous notable crime fighting contributions over the weekend.
He said that they had successfully apprehended a suspect who was impersonating police officers as a means of conducting robberies.
“Over the past weekend, it was reported that whilst LEAP law enforcement were on patrol in Site C, Khayelitsha, members of the community flagged the law enforcement down and provided a tip off to the staff on a suspect whose modus operandi includes impersonating a police officer and robbing people of their belongings,” he said.
Fritz said that the mother of one of the suspects blew the whistle on her son, who was fast asleep when the officers came knocking.
“The team acted on the information received together with the SAPS Crime Prevention Unit and upon arriving at the residence of the suspect, his mother opened the door and informed SAPS and law enforcement that her son was asleep,” he said.
“She called him and allowed the staff to enter. Upon investigation, a SAPS bulletproof vest together with a cap and jacket was found as well as three rounds of ammunition. The suspect was then arrested and transported to Khayelitsha SAPS and processed.”
Communities respond well to Cape Town law enforcement officers
Fritz heaped praise on the officers, saying that they are doing important work that will help rid the communities of the scourge of gangsterism, or at least return them to stability in the short-term.
“It is incredibly reassuring to see our LEAP officers fighting crime and making citizens feel safe,” he said. “Their deployment is making a tangible difference in the lives of the most vulnerable in our society as they deployed in areas most affected by crime.”
He added that the officers were working well with their counterparts in the South African Police Service (SAPS), having conducted a host of joint operations.
Milnerton SAPS arrest man connected to mass shooting
Milnerton SAPS were able to make arrests relating to the murder of five people on Thursday last week, with a 26-year-old man put in handcuffs on Friday.
“I further wish to commend Milnerton SAPS on their efforts to crackdown on the perpetrators responsible for a shooting in Joe Slovo which resulted in the multiples murders,” said Fritz.
The arrested suspect is expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s court on Monday on charges of murder.
