DA calls for cell phone ban at Eastern Cape prison to fight gangsterism

05 July 2015 - 14:29 By Rdm News Wire

The Democratic Party in the Eastern Cape has called for cell phones to be banned at Port Elizabeth’s St Albans prison as part of efforts to fight gangsterism in the area. DA shadow MEC for safety and security in the province‚ Bobby Stevenson‚ said on Sunday that police complain that hits and intimidation of witnesses are organised from St Albans and that a total ban of cellphones at the prison – including prison staff – will assist in eradicating the scourge of gangsterism in the city’s northern areas.“The fight against gangsterism in the Port Elizabeth northern areas must be treated as a war. It needs one central champion that will implement a multi-disciplinary approach which involves all stakeholders.“When I met with the provincial police management last week‚ with the legislature portfolio committee on safety and security‚ I raised this matter and pointed out that there needs to be a single champion that brings all the roleplayers together‚” Stevenson said.He said a ban on cellphones had been successfully implemented at the Mangaung prison in Bloemfontein.Stevenson also called for CCTV cameras in the northern areas that were not working to be fixed and for authorities to ensure that the Gelvandale police station had the required number of vehicles.“When we visited them last week‚ we were informed that only 10 of their 24 allocated vehicles were operational that day‚” he said.He also called for the opening of the new police station in the Booysenspark area to be expedited.“For two years I have been campaigning for a satellite police station in that area to alleviate the pressure on Gelvandale and Bethelsdorp police stations. We were told by the provincial commissioner that a fully-fledged police station would be opened in that area and that they were busy negotiating land from the municipality. This process must be speeded up.”Also‚ prosecution services and the police needed to work closely together so that gangsters were “not given easy bail and released back into communities where they can intimidate witnesses”.“Whereas we congratulate the SAPS on the 479 arrests since 2013 in gang-related crimes‚ they alone cannot combat gangsterism. The task team appointed by the Premier needs to start delivering results. The key job of this task team needs to be to the co-ordination of the efforts of police‚ prisons‚ prosecution authorities as well as social development‚ education‚ the municipality and community organisations.“All have a role to play in implementing programmes and strategies to combat gangsterism. Unless they are co-ordinated under the leadership of one person‚ with the necessary drive‚ commitment and political will‚ we will not win this war. A simple example of what the department of education needs to do is monitor drop-out rates at school and ensure that when learners drop out‚ they are brought back to school and do not become labour pools for gangsters‚” Stevenson said.“Fighting gangsters and drugs is a highly specialised task and the DA believes that the specialised national anti-gang and anti-drug units need to be re-established. They were disbanded in 2002 with fatal consequences‚” he added...

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