SA’s 'FBI moment': Cachalia defends army deployment

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia believes that South Africa is having a so-called “FBI” moment to find new ways to deal with the evolution of organised crime.

He disagreed with MPs who claim the incompetence of the South African Police Service (SAPS) has led to the deployment of the army to tackle gangsterism and illegal mining.

In a status update on the deployment to Parliament on Friday, Cachalia said the urban deployment of soldiers will help the police to start implementing a new strategy to deal with gang violence and organised crime.

The acting police minister has been quick to shut down MPs' criticism of a police service that is not up to the task.

Cachalia said that this generalisation misses the big picture of the changing nature of crime.

He said to pin the blame of rampant crime and gangsterism on the police alone is unfair.

"In fact, the evidence is clear that over the last two years there’s been considerable improvement, but the levels of violent crime are still very high."

Backed by Defence Minister Angie Motshekga, Cachalia has been at pains to point out that the urban army deployment slated for 1 April is for stabilisation purposes only and to create the space for police to build the capabilities to necessary for more effective policing.

"The gang violence we see now is not the one we grew up with. It’s a new animal, and it needs new tools, new capabilities to combat."

Cachalia said that fuelled by new technology, the evolution of organised crime is not unique to South Africa, but the police have fallen short in coming up with ways to beat it.