Criminologist says police's new anti-gang plan also needs to address social ills

A criminologist said that the South African Police Service (SAPS)'s new anti-gang plan would only work in conjunction with a strategy that looks at socio-economic factors. 

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia presented the plan to the select committee on security and justice in Parliament this week.

The plan will see policing bolstered with increased Crime Intelligence and community policing in gang hotspots, but crime expert, Guy Lamb, said it was not enough.

Lamb said that SAPS' new plan to tackle gang violence in the Western Cape won't work if social ills are not addressed.

"Low levels of employment opportunities for young men, dysfunctional families, communities where there's insufficient resources and government services. Many of these societal issues need to be addressed."

Lamb said government does have an integrated crime and violence prevention strategy that looks at socio-economic factors.

"Government is slowly starting to implement... But that particular plan needs to be accelerated in conjunction with what the police are proposing at the moment."

Anti-crime organisations met Cachalia on Thursday for feedback about the plan.