Cape Town Mayor urges Police Ministry to rescue struggling anti-gang unit

Cape Talk and 702's Mandy Wiener chats to Cape Town Mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis.

Listen to their conversation in the audio clip below:

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has made an urgent appeal to Acting National Police Minister Professor Firoz Cachalia to deploy emergency resources to the city's critically under-resourced anti-gang unit. 

This follows alarming reports that officers are patrolling without firearms, bulletproof vests, or even sufficient vehicles, and some unable to operate due to a lack of spare tyres. 

Hill-Lewis confirms the accuracy of these claims and says his Metro Police Officers, who often assist the SAPS anti-gang operations, have witnessed the resource crisis firsthand.

"It's hard to think of a unit doing more dangerous work than the anti-gang unit in Cape Town. There they are going into a gun fight without any weapons - that's outrageous."

- Geordin Hill-Lewis, Cape Town Mayor

He warns that the situation reflects broader systemic failures within the South African Police Service, including leadership instability and the collapse of crime intelligence. 

Hill-Lewis adds that without decisive action, the fight against gang violence will continue to falter.

He reiterates his call for the devolution of policing powers to local government, arguing that Cape Town could achieve far better results with the same resources.

ALSO READ: Would devolution of policing help reduce crime in Western Cape? 

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation.