CAPE TOWN: Western Cape Premier Alan Winde has welcomed the announcement by Police Minister Bheki Cele that the President has authorised
the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to the worst
affected crime areas in the province.
Police minister Bheki Cele said President Cyril Ramaphosa
had approved a request for the deployment after consultation with Defence Minister
Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
The decision was taken following a string of murders in Philippi which left 13 people dead.
Communities and the Western Cape Government have been
calling for the army as a peacekeeping and stabilisation force for the rampant
crime and gangsterism in that province.
Cele until recently has been adamant about the deployment
of the defence in the Western Cape, stating that it was unnecessary.
"This a clear admission that the police have lost
control of the war on crime, a fact denied by Cele a mere few days ago. Just
today, we wrote to Minister Cele and the police management requesting the use
of extraordinary measures, in particular, that they invoke Section 13(7) of the
SAPS Act which allows for police to cordon off areas and conduct search and
seizure operations for a period of 24 hours, without a warrant, said Winde.
"The SANDF could provide support and assist with
holding perimeters and cordons in these exercises so that police can get on
with the work of investigating crime and arresting perpetrators," he added.
The people of Philippi expressed their
elation and said that they hope the deployment of the SANDF will combat crime
and bring relief to that area.
In any democratic state deploying the army to police the citizenry is something that you want to postpone for as long as possible. The army isn’t normally trained for such an exercise and its doctrine, training and authority structures aren’t suited to the situation. Army members are trained to go to war. There is therefore always the danger that when soldiers are deployed in communities for long periods of time that there will be certain violations.
Army members can, for instance, find themselves in a situation where they have to stand in as proxies for the police, in which case they have to apply SAPS (Police) rules such as the use of minimum force and following the correct procedure during an arrest.
While they are supposed to receive training on police rules and conduct before they go into a community, they may find themselves in a situation where they do not have the experience to handle it correctly.
The SANDF members are also trained to use machine guns, not pistols (as compared to Police), so you want to avoid a shootout at all costs.
Philippi is one of the larger townships in Cape Town, South Africa. It is sparsely populated compared to the surrounding city and contains many farms. Philippi is seen by the government and businesses as ideal for certain business-related developments.
Crime Stats Source - Crime Stats SA
Philippi is one of the larger townships in Cape Town, South Africa. It is sparsely populated compared to the surrounding city and contains many farms. Philippi is seen by the government and businesses as ideal for certain business-related developments.
Total Crimes: Worst ten precincts in 2018
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