Mitchells Plain SAPS failures urges devolution of policing powers

2 February 2024

Note to editors: Kindly find a soundbite here and photos here, here, here & here

Today the Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape held a community picket at the SAPS Mitchells Plain and delivered a memorandum to the SAPS leadership, demanding swift and harsh accountability for the theft of 15 guns and 8 imitation weapons from the station, following a similar theft that occurred at the same station in 2017.

These weapons will almost certainly be used by gangsters on the streets of Mitchells Plain, where the residents will suffer the tragic consequences of this shocking failure of basic security at a police station.

We also attended the first court appearance of the suspect in the killing of 12-year-old Firdous Kleinsmidt, an unspeakable tragedy. We were shocked to learn that this is the second murder charge against this suspect, the first having been withdrawn in 2022 because the investigation was not completed. Had that case been properly investigated, this suspect would not be on the streets and a young girl would still be alive. This is another example of national state failure with terrible consequences for the community of Mitchells Plain.

All of these mounting and unacceptable failures only underscore why the devolution of policing powers to the Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town is more urgent and necessary than ever.

Only with proper management and a working government can the SAPS be turned into an effective crime fighting force that actually gets gangsters off the streets and puts them away.

We reiterate our call for the devolution of policing powers now, and support the effort by the Western Cape government to fight for more policing powers through the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill. These cases show how effective such a Bill could be in making Cape Town and the Western Cape safer.

The ANC is unable to run the police in the Western Cape, and evidence thereof is piling up almost daily. Policing needs to be run by a competent government to ensure that people are safe. You cannot live a life of dignity and prosperity if you live in constant fear.

Issued by Geordin Hill-Lewis, DA Provincial Deputy Leader, Western Cape, 2 February 2024