- The recent killings in Gugulethu show that our law enforcement officers are not coping at all.
- Since last month (September), at least 16 people were shot and killed execution-style in the Gugulethu policing precinct.
- People are scared to come forward because they don’t trust the officers.
It appears our government has no plan to curb the crime that affects millions of South Africans daily.
The recent killings in Gugulethu show that our law enforcement officers are not coping at all.
We cannot run away from the fact that many police stations in the country are facing a shortage of resources.
It is clear that Gugulethu Police Station is one of the stations that are struggling with crime and it is time for Bheki Cele, the Minister of Police, to come up with a tangible plan.
The imbizos are not working because people continue to die.
Those who are close or friends with Cele must tell him that we don’t need imbizos anymore. We need action!
Gugulethu is under siege!
No one is safe in the Cape Flats as a whole.
Also read: Mass killing causes panic in the KTC community
Since last month (September), at least 16 people were shot and killed execution-style in the Gugulethu policing precinct. And it seems the number is going up. Something must be done to protect our communities.
The community and the police need to come on board to find solutions. Even if the government can deploy extra officers nothing will change as long as the community is not involved.
There is a neighbourhood watch that works with the officers but they are not well-trained and fully resourced to deal with hard-core criminals.
First and foremost, the officers need to build trust with the community.
The biggest challenge in our communities is that residents do not want to come forward. As long as the officers are not trusted by the community, crime will continue to haunt our areas.
People are scared to come forward because they don’t trust the officers.
What we see in Gugulethu is still a ‘minor issue’. We are yet to see more.
Different community stakeholders need to come together to form a team to fight crime.