The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Chatsworth today calls on the Police Minister, Bheki Cele to increase police visibility and provide the necessary police support in the area amid harrowing murder statistics.
The latest quarterly crime statistics – for the period 1 July to end September indicate that Chatsworth is one of the murder hotspots in the country.
Murders increased by 11% compared to the previous quarter. While we are disappointed, we are not shocked by these statistics. Chatsworth has over the years became a haven of crime, it is upsetting that people are now losing their lives in the process.
Community forums and neighbourhood watches can only do so much. As for the South African Police Services, we only have two police stations catering to over a million people in the area. Bayview and Chatsworth police stations. With internal migration on the rise, they can also do so much.
Our stations are understaffed and under-resourced. There are also allegations of corruption among police officers.
Drugs are one of the main contributors not only to the crime but to the high number of murders as well. Drug lords are roaming our streets freely, and for those that were arrested, there were no convictions due to them having police allies.
Minister Cele also needs to conduct an investigation in relation to these allegations.
The government has continuously failed to provide the necessary resources and support needed to fight crime in our area.
For the province of KwaZulu-Natal, we had 294 murders out of 675 in the country. Clearly, this is not a Chatsworth problem but the province as a whole.
Residents of Chatsworth deserve to be safe and not have to watch over their shoulder out of the fear of losing their lives and those of their loved ones.
There has never been a time more suited for the government and the SAPS to intervene.
We can successfully fight crime in Chatsworth, it is not impossible, all that is needed is the political will and decisive leadership.
In the DA-led Cape Town, over 500 new local law enforcement officers are tackling crime hotspots as part of the Western Cape provincial safety plan, which is the biggest of its kind in the country. The Western Cape also supports 307 Neighbourhood Watches and they have just recently launched a new K9 unit.
The DA strives to ensure that people do not live in fear!