Dear Editor
Following the briefing by Minister Bheki Cele yesterday, it is clear that the uncontrolled crime in our country could have been easily curtailed if a proper, competent policing strategy were in place.
It was revealed that just last week, 83 people were murdered in our province. In addition to this figure, many other crimes were outlined and how the absence of a national strategy will prevent this pattern from being reversed.
With each passing release of crime statistics, the trend of increased suffering in our communities continues to be intensified and it is this trend that is matched with a police service that is further under-resourced.
This is why the Western Cape will no longer accept this decline and has implemented the Safety Plan since 2019.
In this financial year, the Safety Plan directs approximately R2.2 billion of funding to adding more boots on the ground and instituting preventative crime strategies to make our communities safer.
Despite this plan receiving a fraction of the resources that policing does on an annual basis, we can already see the results. Out of 13 areas in which LEAP officers are deployed, 8 of them recorded fewer murders where Mitchells Plain notably had a 42% decrease.
By focusing on innovation and evidence-based decision making, we are making a difference in changing the root causes of crime, while our national counterparts refuse to admit that they have utterly failed South Africa.
The ANC needs realise that now, more than ever, we need competent, subnational governments to run policing. The time for devolution is now.
Regards
Gillion Bosman, MPP
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Community Safety
