City of Cape Town warns SANDF deployment won’t fix root causes of gang violence

Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Safety, JP Smith, has cautioned that deploying the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to gang-stricken areas may only offer short-term relief, unless it is paired with effective policing and prosecutions.

Speaking on CapeTalk, Smith responded to reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering deploying the military to violence-hit communities across South Africa.

‘You don’t fix crime with soldiers alone’

Smith rejected what he described as a ‘prophet of doom’ view that South Africa’s gang problem is unfixable.

“There are many countries that have had serious gang violence problems that have brought them under control,” he said. “It is about successfully investigating, prosecuting and convicting the persons.”

He argued that the country’s low conviction rate for gang-related murders was the real crisis.

“We are going to have to invest in the forensic capabilities; bump up our number of detectives and have the right specialised units, under the right monitoring and oversight,” Smith said. “It can all be done.”

While he acknowledged the SANDF could help stabilise some areas, he warned their impact would be limited.

“They do not have powers of arrest, search and seizure,” he said. “They will temporarily prevent people from shooting. That is a desirable outcome. But as soon as they withdraw, it will resume if you haven’t dealt with the root problem.”

N2 safety project shows ‘significant results’

Smith also addressed ongoing concerns about safety on Cape Town’s major routes, particularly the N2 near the airport and the Century City off-ramp on the N1.

He said the City launched a dedicated N2 safety project in September 2024, working alongside SAPS and provincial traffic authorities.

“We’ve added 37 extra officers and, in the last seven months, made 148 arrests,” Smith said. “Two arrests on 8 January seem to have had an immediate impact, with a dramatic reduction in incidents.”

According to Smith, most freeway callouts are not crime-related.

“In seven months, we responded to about 552 calls on the freeways. Only 86 were crime-related,” he said. “Most were breakdowns, flat tyres or vehicles that ran out of fuel.”

He added that officers now respond to around 80% of N2 incidents within five minutes.

‘Misinformation fuels fear’

Despite the statistics, many motorists still feel unsafe. Smith said part of the problem was inaccurate reporting and social media amplification.

“We’ve seen overall response numbers reported as if they were criminal incidents, when in fact a very small number related to crime,” he said.

He urged motorists to report incidents to SAPS or the City’s emergency number and to save it on their phones.

Walls and fencing planned for hotspots

Smith said infrastructure failures also make attacks easier, particularly where freeway fencing has been neglected.

“There are supposed to be walls or fences along any freeway all over the world,” he said. “Here, they’ve been neglected.”

He confirmed the City would soon go out to tender for higher, reinforced barriers along priority sections, with funding already set aside.

“We cannot wait for somebody else to step up,” Smith said. “We will get that moving.”

For more information, listen to Smith using the audio player below: