Women-led gangs are 'prevalent in the Western Cape'
|Published
Concern has been raised about the prevalence of women leading gang-related crimes in Cape Town. Supplied Concern has been raised about the prevalence of women leading gang-related crimes in Cape Town. Supplied
Cape Town - After three women were arrested on Monday for possession of drugs and firearms, alarm bells were triggered about the prevalence of women leading gang-related crimes in Cape Town.
In the first incident, two women suspects aged 28 and 43 were arrested in Ravensmead, after they were found with two pistols, 13 rounds of ammunition, 1208 mandrax, and close to 1kg of tik.
In a separate incident in Lavender Hill, a 22-year-old woman was caught with an unlicensed .357 revolver and 60 rounds.
Manenberg community activist Roegshanda Pascoe said women-led gangs were prevalent in the Western Cape, particularly in Cape Town, but it was an issue that not many people spoke about.
“We are finding that more women are now playing leadership roles in gangs, and giving orders to other members; it is surprising how many women are drug merchants on the Cape Flats,” she said. Pascoe said she recently spoke at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime in Germany, where it was discussed how big an issue women involved in gangs actually was.
“These incidents are a warning that the police should be alert and not just assume that women will not be in possession of firearms or involved in drug smuggling,” said Grassy Park Community Policing Forum (CPF) chief executive, Philip Bam.
Residential manager for the Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children, Dorothea Gertse said no women gang leaders had sought help at the shelter.
“We have had women in our shelters who are girlfriends or wives of gangsters, but not actively involved in gangs. But they would probably not provide us with information, out of fear that we will report them to the authorities.
“We can’t say for sure if they are drug pedlars or not, but we do have women coming into our spaces who are on drugs,” she said.
Dr Don Pinnock of UCT’s Criminology Centre said while women in gangs were a problem, he had not come across an exclusively female-led gang.
“Girl gangs are not as big a problem as male gangs, but they do need to be policed,” he said.
“There should be more police around with all the gang-related activities.”
Police spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel André Traut said more investigation needed to be done to establish whether female-led gangs were a problem in Cape Town.
@TheCapeArgus
kauthar.gool@inl.co.za