Their policing resources may be low, but one Cape Town community isn’t resting on its laurels when it comes to tackling crime.
At least seven people have been killed over the last few weeks in or around Grassy Park in three separate incidents.
Residents say the police station in the area is under-resourced so they’ve taken it upon themselves to keep safe.
Neighbourhood watch member Neil Jacobus said, “I’m proud of these groups of neighbourhood watches in the Grassy Park area. If it wasn’t for them, then I don’t know what would’ve happened to Grassy Park.”
These are ordinary citizens – many with day jobs – risking their lives to patrol the streets of Grassy Park at night
Most nights, they walk alone, but tonight they’re accompanied by the SAPS.
With crime increasing and police resources decreasing, the network of neighbourhood watches has grown over the years.
35 groups – consisting of 400 members – patrol different sections of Grassy Park.
Following the killing of seven people in the area, last month and a spate of other shootings, provincial community safety committee members visited the police station.
They found there are fewer officers than what was allocated for this year.
DA WC community safety spokesperson Reagen Allen said, “for every one officer we have in Grassy Park, it’s over 1300 residents, which obviously places a burden on residents and the South African Police Service. But even more alarming is that we have 31 detectives having a caseload of 250 dockets each, which is a major obstacle and an impossible task.”
The SAPS says staff numbers fluctuate for various reasons, like retirement, resignation or death and that there are 157 staff at the station – not 116 as the committee reports.
While the resourcing issue plays out in the political arena, these volunteers are continuing with their nightly duties unabated.
More boots on the ground are needed, but the community policing forum says government must also implement programmes to address the social ills that lead to crime.
Source: eNCA
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