Cape Town – Mitchells Plain cluster Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Lucinda Evans has urged Police Minister Bheki Cele to place the police service in the Western Cape under administration.
This comes as various CPFs in Cape Town affected by gang violence have given Cele 48 hours to stabilise the situation and place certain areas under lockdown, the SABC reported.
They warned that if the issues they highlighted are not addressed within the allocated time, they will embark on "strategic action, which will take place at the offices of the Western Cape Police Services in Cape Town".
CPF members met in Athlone last night after several gang-related shootings on the Cape Flats. On Monday, an on-duty police officer was also shot and killed in Lavender Hill while pursuing suspects.
“The emergency stabilisation is the following: There should be resources sent to all the affected areas that are currently experiencing gang violence," said Evans, who also called for the army to be deployed to be able to deal with multiple flare-ups.
"Those resources should be accompanied by the SANDF. If those number of vehicles are in one area, what happens to the other area that flares up?
"So what we are saying to the national minister, you send the deployment accompanied by the SANDF."
In a Facebook post, Evans said: "We want Peace in our Homes and Peace in Our Communities, WE WANT OUR CHILDREN TO PLAY, JUST PLAY IN PEACE."