Police Oversight and Community Safety
(a) What role are community policing forums, neighbourhood watches, municipal-ities and local safety structures playing alongside the SANDF deployment and (b) how has this cooperation improved safety outcomes;
(2) whether the continued rise in shootings demonstrates the limitations of temporary military deployments as a substitute for properly resourced policing in the Western Cape; if not, why not; if so; what are the relevant details?
- (1) (a) Currently, there is no structured or formalised cooperation agreements between
the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and Community Policing Forums (CPFs), Neighbourhood Watches (NHWs), municipalities, or other local safety structures. SANDF deployments are undertaken in conjunction with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in support of law enforcement operations.
(b) These deployments serve as a support measure to SAPS and do not entail formalised collaboration with CPFs, NHWs, municipalities, or other local safety structures. Notwithstanding this, these structures continue to play a critical role within the broader safety ecosystem by promoting community safety, strengthening social cohesion, and supporting local crime prevention initiatives.
THE MINISTER OF POLICE OVERSIGHT AND COMMUNITY SAFETY WAS INFORMED AS FOLLOWS:
The reply of the South African Police Service (SAPS):
2. (2) The continued rise in shootings does not necessarily demonstrate that the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is ineffective; rather, it highlights the complexity and deeply rooted nature of violent crime in identified hotspot areas. SANDF deployments are intended as a temporary stabilisation and support measure to assist the South African Police Service (SAPS) in addressing immediate threats to public safety, including gang-related violence and serious violent crime.
The SANDF deployment must therefore be viewed as one component of a broader integrated crime-combatting strategy, and not as a substitute for adequately resourced and sustainable policing. While SANDF visibility and support operations may contribute to the disruption of criminal activities and the stabilisation of affected communities, long-term reductions in shootings and violent crime require effective prosecution, and broader socio-economic interventions.
The persistence or increase in shootings is attributed to several factors, including:
- entrenched gang activity and retaliatory violence;
- illegal firearms proliferation;
- socio-economic conditions contributing to crime;
- resource and capacity constraints within policing environments; and
- the adaptive nature of organised criminal networks.
Accordingly, the South African Police Service continues to assess and strengthen operational strategies in hotspot areas through coordinated deployments, targeted policing operations, community engagement, and interdepartmental interventions aimed at addressing both the immediate and underlying causes of violent crime.
