Mashatile: City's intelligence resources could boost anti-gang fight in Western Cape

Deputy President Paul Mashatile yesterday said he will engage with the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NatJoints) to explore tapping into the City of Cape Town's intelligence capability to strengthen the fight against gang violence.

“If the Western Cape or the City of Cape Town has got capability to work with NatJoints, I am sure they won't chase you away. I will engage with them because surely that resource is needed, but of course, you know, there are protocols,” Mashatile said.

ANC MP Mwelo Nonkonyana had initially asked about measures to address systemic issues in policing and justice system that hinder the arrest, prosecution and conviction of gang violence perpetrators and gang leaders.

Mashatile was responding during a question and answer session in the National Council of Provinces and reacting to Nonkonyana, he  outlined several measures implemented by the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster and the National Security Council to address systemic weaknesses in policy and weaknesses in the justice system and the entire security cluster.

He said that the government was investing in an integrated intelligence-driven approach. 

“The strategy will ensure that gangs and criminal networks are investigated, neutralised and dismantled,” he said.

The deputy president also said apart from Operation Shanela, the SAPS was currently implementing the National Anti-Gang Strategy in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Gauteng, to combat gang terrorism.

“The strategy aims to dismantle criminal networks through methods like intelligence-led operation, proactive policing, but also community engagement. The rollout includes expanding the scope of anti-gang units to cover crimes such as drug trafficking, shootings and murders in these provinces.

“Gang-related crime is a key element of SAPS’s Operation Shanela, which focuses on the immediate stabilisation of violent crime through weekly intelligence-led high-density operations.”

Mashatile added that the National Crime Combating Forum has directed provinces to develop and implement annual interventions or other intervention plans and give reasons for non-achievement.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has established case-flow management committees in all courts to manage the progression of cases by setting goals, exchanging expertise and coordinating efforts to ensure that cases are finalised efficiently.

“The government will continue to implement a combination of integrated strategy, operational, prosecutorial and judicial measures to close systemic gaps that have long enabled gang leaders and other perpetrators to evade arrest and evade accountability,” Mashatile added.

DA MP Nicholas Gotsell said that it was heartwarming to hear the actions taken by the government, especially taking it down from national to provincial levels.

Gotsell noted that despite Operation Shanela, 400 people were murdered in the Western Cape just last month and 39 people on the Cape Flats just last week.

“But government still refuses to expand policing powers to enable the City of Cape Town's metro to deploy its investigative and intelligence capacity. ”

Gotsell asked if Mashatile would make an undertaking to urgently consider the offer by the City of Cape Town as part of the measures he had spoken of earlier.

Mashatile said the strategy of NatJoints required integration with provinces.

He also said he had learnt with the security cluster that there were protocols.

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