The Mitchell’s Plain Community Police Forum and Evolving Possibilities Institute for Change held an anti-gangsterism dialogue at the Sub-council 17 chambers in Lentegeur on Saturday to lay the foundation for an anti-gang strategy for Mitchell’s Plain.
The shooting of a 14-month-old child in Tafelsig on Monday came two days after a community dialogue set plans in motion for an anti-gang strategy in Mitchell’s Plain.
The toddler was shot in the leg at around 8am on Monday when one of three men chasing a man carrying the child in Liverpool Street, Freedom Park, drew a firearm and shot at him, missing the man but hitting the child, says provincial police spokesman Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi.
The child was taken to a nearby hospital, and police are investigating two counts of attempted murder, but the perpetrators remain at large.
Anyone with information on the case can call Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or use the MySAPS app to make an anonymous report.
On Saturday, representatives from government, civic organisations, academic and religious institutions and various other community groups met at the Sub-council 17 chambers in Lentegeur to lay the groundwork for an anti-gang strategy for Mitchell’s Plain.
The discussion was organised by the Mitchell’s Plain Community Police Forum and Evolving Possibilities Institute for Change (Epic), a non-profit organisation founded by criminologist Ben de Vos.
“Gangsterism is not really a scourge anymore. It has become an atrocity. People are dying, and that is a fact. The murder rate is through the roof, and most of it is gang-related,” said Mr De Vos.
Mitchell’s Plain acting police chief Colonel Henry Pietersen described the extent of the gang problem in Mitchell’s Plain and some of the challenges police face in tackling it.
Dr Llewellyn MacMaster, chairperson of the Cape Crisis Coalition, spoke about the impact of gangs on communities and how communities can respond.
The vulnerability of primary school children to gangs, especially those from dysfunctional families; the impact of poverty; the role of religious bodies; the need for restorative justice; and the reformation of gangsters and ex-cons were some of the issues that came up in group discussions.
Mr De Vos said the problems, however complex, could not be tackled only by the police.
“People tend to think when we tackle gangsterism that there needs to be a policing solution to it. But it is not really a policing solution alone – that is part of the solution. The mandate of the police is to prevent crime, [make] arrests and investigate crime.
“We can face these gangsters because they are part of a family. They come out of a house. It is my brother, my father and my child.
“This why we’re having this community dialogue so that we can face it and come up with solutions in our homes and streets and churches. We can face the gangsters because they are not unknown to us.
“The gang strategies that have been designed before by the government didn’t include the community’s input. That is why the community will form 80% part of this strategy that we are looking to develop.”
The dialogue was the first phase in a multi-pronged approach, he said.
“We do have a clear plan. This is just to set the scene and form the pillars for the strategy. Thereafter we will form a steering committee to look at what came up today before we go over and craft a strategy.”
Meanwhile, according to Lentegeur police’s Constable Navon van Houten, officers patrolling Montrose Park last Friday, following a gang-related shooting that claimed the life of a 14-year-old boy the previous night, arrested two men, aged 28 and 29, who were carrying an improvised firearm with five live rounds of ammunition and a fake gun.
Later that evening in Montrose Park, police also arrested a man carrying 40 packets of tik.