DA in the Western Cape wants municipal police to be given green light to probe crime

CAPE TOWN - Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and other Democratic Alliance (DA) officials have written to the Department of Justice and Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia to change legislation that will allow municipal police to investigate crime.

Gang-related shootings in the Western Cape have left more than 800 people dead in the past year.

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Winde joined MEC for Community Safety and Police Oversight Anroux Marais and Mayco Member for Safety and Security JP Smith to sign the memorandum at the Western Cape Provincial Parliament on Friday.

"We've got diminishing police numbers, but we've got escalating crime and a growing population and those two correlate and we actually need to make sure that we get more resources for our policing." said Winde.

Smith said national government should allow municipal police to assist in curbing gang violence in the province.

"All we're saying is make the existing systems that should be working, work. The process is not failing because there's not a new plan or something additional being done. It's failing because what should be happening is not happening." Smith said.

He adds that municipal police investigators will lead to a higher conviction rate for suspects accused of gang-related crime.