The City of Cape Town has deployed additional resources to Manenberg in its response to the recent upsurge in gang activity in the area. This is part of the administration’s efforts to build a Safe and Caring City.
“With escalated violence leading to the closure of 16 schools in the area, the City cannot but do everything we can for the community. This is despite the primary mandate for policing lying with the South African Police Services,” says the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman J.P. Smith.
The area has been relatively quiet since learners returned to school on Monday, 19 August 2013, and on that day Metro Police apprehended one wanted person, on a warrant of arrest for assault.
Since 2006, the City has put together a multi-disciplinary range of interventions aimed directly at gang related programmes and policing, amounting to more than R24 million.
As of Monday, the City had deployed 119 of its staff to the area to ensure that violence does not flare up again, putting the school-going learners of the community most at risk.
The 119 are made up of 71 Law Enforcement Officers, 40 Metro Police Officers and eight Traffic Officers.
On Tuesday, 20 August 2013, members of the City’s K-9 Unit received copies of warrants of arrest for most of the wanted persons in the Manenberg area. The City hopes to make a number of arrests in the coming days.
Since 1 August, the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate has, in Manenberg:
- conducted 50 operations
- confiscated five firearms and ammunition
- made 19 drug-related arrests
- searched 80 premises
- searched 33 vehicles
- searched 613 people
- made 15 non-drug related arrests
- issued 621 traffic fines
“We will continue doing everything we can, with the help of the community, to protect the vulnerable people of Manenberg from the devastating effects of gang violence,” says Alderman Smith.
