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The Western Cape Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) has just been boosted by a new brigadier and nearly 50 additional officers.

During the presentations on the province’s quarterly crime statistics on Thursday, Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile revealed these much-needed additions to the policing force.

The AGU was formed in November 2018 to combat violent gang-related activities and organised crime syndicates, reported News24. It typically investigated sensitive cases, occasionally putting fellow officers in focus, which led to distrust in certain quarters.

According to General Patekile, provincial police are making progress in addressing gangsterism in the region.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape’s murder rate increased by nearly 9% during the third quarter. The latest statistics point to how 1,301 people were murdered between October and December 2023, of which 1,015 (about 78%) occurred in Cape Town.

A total of 250 murders from this period were gang-related, as well as 351 cases of attempted murder and 15 cases of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

Bolstering the anti-gang unit with more members is among the plans of police in the Western Cape to address what it has called an unsettling crime picture in the province, per SABC News:

“We have got 200 members plus that we appointed at brigadier on operation Shanela to do high intense operations in hotspot areas within those stations. We are receiving additional 100 members on lockdown 3 from other provinces which is with the assistance of the National Commissioner who is bringing those people down and we have added 40 odd members with the anti-gang unit which will be starting on Monday. We are appointing a commander of the anti-gang unit at the level of a brigadier who will now be focusing on gangs.”

Patekile also mentioned how collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, the integration of Artificial Intelligence and conventional means of policing are being employed.

“We are using the CCTV cameras; we are using the drones in policing; we are using many other ways of ensuring that we place we can also observe with assistance of the city. We have got capabilities to say there’s something. The shot spotter, which is a gun detection system, which has been installed in areas like Nyanga, Manenberg which detects the gun fire from the crackers and everything and we may not at the time arrest the person but within our response we do most of the time, find the suspect around in possession of guns in the area.”

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde says with a growing population, police remain severely under-resourced.

He says the fight for devolution of policing powers will continue, but that every resource is being ploughed in arresting the rising levels of crime.

[source:news24]