Dear Editor
A reply to my written question to the South African Police Service (SAPS) revealed an average of 177 mob justice attacks were recorded per year in the Western Cape between 1 April 2018 and 31 March 2021. This equates to a total of 532 such instances over the same period. In effect, this means that mob justice takes place every second day.
According to the reply, 65 suspects were prosecuted of the 293 charges made. This equates to prosecution rate of 22% for this period.
SAPS defines “Mob Justice” as an act where a group of people take the law into their own hands to assault, humiliate, of murder an individual accused and/or suspected of a crime. This may also occur in the form of damage to the alleged suspect’s property.
MPP Reagen Allen comments: “Violence does not occur in a vacuum. When we witness instances of mob justice, we have to ask why trust in the police is so low and why more isn’t being done to increase confidence in the justice system. This presents yet another desperate call for the lead agency, nationally, to do more to protect citizens from crimes.
The low levels of trust in the police service can be attributed to the failures in the criminal justice system. It is imperative that we fill the cracks in the justice system because justice must be seen to be done. The prevalence of mob justice can never be acceptable, the rule of law must be supreme.
I have submitted additional questions to the SAPS via the Provincial Minister of Community Safety regarding measures undertaken by the police to curb mob justice. Beyond this, we also need to know what steps are being taken to improve both the satisfaction and reliability of their services. Residents ought to trust the police service to deal with crime as the very first point of call towards the prevalence of justice.”
Regards
Reagen Allen, MPP
DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Community Safety
Cape Town Lens: Hout Bay – South Africa