Diepsloot police have started using drones to access various informal settlements that cannot be reached because there are no roads and there are risks of illegal electricity connections.
This was revealed by Gauteng police commissioner Lt-Gen Elias Mawela as he laid bare the problems his troops face on a daily basis as they try to fight crime in the highly congested space.
“There is an area in Diepsloot called Mashamplan. If someone calls government in distress from Mashamplan, it means you have to park your car at a soccer field and walk into the place. When you walk in there are no roads. It is only passages. Above you are illegal electricity connections, on the ground also are illegal electricity connections. If you were to go there at night and are not familiar with the place, you may trip or even get electrocuted.
“If it happens that one of the shacks has a criminal with a machine gun, they would finish us because we’d have nowhere to run,” Mawela said.
Police have started using drones that are sent into this settlement before officers can respond to an emergency.
Mawela said he has also established a tactical response team (TRT) within the Diepsloot police station to deal with violent crimes in the area.
On Tuesday, the Gauteng portfolio committee on community safety called Mawela and his management to come and explain what they are doing to address crime in Diepsloot. The summoning of the commissioner follows the killing of seven people in two separate incidents through vigilantism in Diepsloot last weekend.
Mawela tabled a comprehensive report showing the real picture of what police face in that township.
The report showed that Diepsloot, which is 67km² and has more than 196,000 people. There are 24 schools, 10 churches, 16 taxi ranks, 17 scrap metal dealers, 15 jewellers, 10 clinics, one hostel, 147 taverns and 351 spaza shops.
We have profiled those who were involved in vigilantism, their profile is not pleasing. It shows that the people who are driving this, are themselves criminals. They know that for them to commit crime, they need to create a chaotic situation.
— Gauteng police commissioner
Lt-Gen Elias Mawela
Mawela said the taverns are always packed at night, posing a serious risk in case of fire.
“Inside the taverns, people are on top of each other, you can’t search them inside the tavern. You need to request them to go outside.
“I have said to the station commander they need to get EMS and building inspectors to sit with tavern owners and advise them on the number of people they can take. Should fire break out in any of the taverns in Diepsloot, I don’t want to be in this country.
“Compliance is not there because those regulatory authorities within the city which are supposed to enforce it are not coming to the party. We call for a whole government approach in terms of dealing with the challenges of Diepsloot. It should not be that everything is laid at the doorstep of the police,” said Mawela.
Diepsloot has had crime problems for years. The community has developed a reputation for taking the law into their own hands and killing those suspected to be behind crimes such as rape, robberies and murders in the area.
In April last year, Diepsloot residents embarked on a protest action demanding that foreign nationals be removed from the township as they blamed them for the crime. Police minister Bheki Cele and home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi visited the area to hear the residents’ concerns.
The local police station was given 16 more police vehicles and a TRT, popularly known as “amaberete”, was deployed in the area. Mawela said those interventions stabilised the area but the TRT personnel had to return to their units.
Mawela told journalists afterwards that the vigilantism in the township is driven by criminals. Police have arrested five people in connection with the vigilantism attack that led to seven people dying last week.
“We have profiled those who were involved in vigilantism, their profile is not pleasing. It shows that the people who are driving this, are themselves criminals. They know that for them to commit crime, they need to create a chaotic situation.
“These people are masquerading as leaders, but they are behind the scenes committing crime. Some of the people called themselves community patrollers, but they don’t want to subscribe to the [community policing forum] . They go around spaza shops demanding money. They tell spaza shop owners, ‘give me money and I will protect’,” Mawela said.
In a report presented by police to the portfolio committee, statistics showed that from April to June this year:
- murder cases increased from 15 to 19 compared to the same period last year;
- attempted murder also increased, from 19 to 24;
- assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, Diepsloot’s most common crime, increased from 171 to 206 cases;
- common assault cases increased from 131 to 181; while
- robberies with aggravating circumstances increased from 80 to 96.
