Only reason Zuma refuses to send in the army, is the FACT that most of those ANC members in Govt are FEEDING THE DRUG MARKET in Cape Town!

Even worse!

This mess is a result of Zille's DA making deals with the gangs a while ago.

The DA and gangs set the turf boundaries and expect SAPS to defend the status quo.

Whatever this woman touches becomes a mess.

@Timbuck9

To say your thinking capacity is non-existent would be a grave insult to invertebrates and inanimate objects all around.

I think that he may be referring to the Metro Police which is under the control of the Cape Town City Council. If I'm correct then Burger is wrong to say that the Metro Police should be dealing with the gangs. Whilst they do have legal powers of arrest and seizure within the Metropolitan borders, the Metro Police do not have the powers to investigate crime and have to hand over criminal suspects to the S A Police Service for investigation and prosecution. Alderman J P Smith and MEC Dan Plato did form a Metro Police Specialised Gang Unit towards the end of last year, in the face of opposition from National Government. They patrol areas such as Elsies River, Hanover Park, Lotus River, Grassy Park and Macassar, which are the gang 'hot spots' in the Western Cape. The unit started operating in December last year and they have made numerous arrests, raids on suspected drug dens and seizures of drugs but they do not have the powers to go any further and rely on the SAPS to secure convictions. The failure seems to be with the criminal justice system, because numerous arrests are made but no convictions are secured. For example, in one community alone, Hanover Park, over the last 3 years 87 cases of murder and attempted murder were reported, 54 arrests were made, but there were absolutely no convictions (information supplied by the SAPS). Personally, I think that when children are being shot in the streets then the situation has gone beyond politics.

Well if he does mean Metro Police then he is not much of a researcher. Metro police are to enforce bylaws and have no access to forensics, criminal records or any other path for criminal investigations.

I do have some sympathy for the SAPS in the face of a difficult and complex situation, and I believe that General Arno Lamoer is a good man who is trying his best. Zille said on radio this morning that there is no quick and easy solution to this scourge, and she has been criticized for politicising the situation. The problem with securing convictions seems to be that people in the community are reluctant to testify in court because their lives have been threatened and they are frightened. Also, some of these drug lords provide financial assistance to these extremely poverty stricken communities, there are also corrupt policemen in the pay of the drug lords, and of course the usual problems with inadequate investigations, lost documents and slow forensics. The old Specialized Gang & Drug units, which were disbanded by the SAPS about 10 years ago, were the most effective in fighting this kind of crime and were also effective in securing convictions because they had experts who could find the evidence. These specialized units are considered to be best international practice, therefore I don't understand why Nathi Mthethwa is digging in his heels. When he was interviewed by Chris Barron in the Sunday Times a few weeks ago, he gave no reasons for his opposition except to keep on saying that "policing is a national competence". Quite surreal. The interview was actually about the proposed Commission of Enquiry into the spiraling vigilantism in Khayelitsha, but his response to the other requests has been exactly the same. Although I don't believe in conspiracy theories, I hope that there is nothing sinister in his motives. In addition to the WC Government, General Lamoer and Trevor Manuel have both called for the reinstatement of the units. While the politicians dither, the situation is spiraling out of control and people are losing their lives.

Two of Zille's flacids, JP Smit and Plato, dealt with the gangs a la Chicago - they agreed the turfs with the incumbents.

Sounds too absurd to be true, but it is.

Is SAPS supposed to defend these incumbents from newcomers?

Maybe the professor reckons the Metro police should do their masters' bidding?

I read that interview. It boggles the mind at how arrogant Nathi came across as.

The problem is that it has been allowed to spiral down into a complete mess now. Fixing it is going to be a long and painful experience. The communities cannot testify against them and they can't fight them on their own. That is just suicide.

When Cele first came in and started getting the old specialised teams back, it was great. The cops want them back and the people need them back. Unfortunately, that seems to have all gone belly up again. Sad part is that if there had been effective policing, the environment for nurturing gangs would never have been there to start with.

I honestly don't know how they are going to fix this. Bringing in the army is not an idea that I favour and it certainly won't solve the long term problem. Singing rap tunes and putting up posters isn't going to make enough of a dent either. Short of plonking them all into the Greenpoint Stadium and letting them shoot it out, there isn't much that can be done until the SAPS come to the party