Although welcomed, the impending deployment of military personnel to the crime-ridden Cape Town suburb of Kraaifontein will not address the fundamental issues plaguing the area’s understaffed and under-resourced police services, community leader Gavin Riddles has warned.
Having been designated as a target precinct for South African Defence Force (SANDF) intervention to bolster police anti-crime efforts, military personnel are anticipated to arrive in the area within the forthcoming days or weeks.
According to Riddles, the deployment was expected on 27 February but has been delayed for undisclosed reasons.
“The army can only give support and secure perimeters for the failing police service. They are trained to safeguard borders and for war but not urban crime prevention,” Riddles stated.
He emphasised that military intervention could only succeed with proper police planning. “This deployment can only work if the local police station has an effective community safety plan in place to combat crime,” he says.
Community fear will only disappear with the presence of the camouflage boots on the ground, for which base camps are needed.
However, Riddles called for decisive action in violence-plagued areas, saying, “Kraaifontein needs the soldiers to restore order due to gang violence and to put up proper checkpoints like during the Covid-19 pandemic. Certain places like Wallacedene, Scottsdene, Bloekombos, and Scottsville need to be placed under lockdown for stabilisation.”
The community leader stressed that visible military presence is essential for restoring confidence, but long term planning and added police resources are needed to sustain it after the army leaves in 2027.
“Community fear will only disappear with the presence of the camouflage boots on the ground, for which base camps are needed.”
He further called for additional police resources, stating that the police must call up and deploy the thousands of trained police reservists in crime prevention operations with the army.
“It’s time for radical change and action rather than heart-warming announcements to ease the mind of residents living in fear due to violence.”
Rob Bisset, chair of the Tygerberg Cluster Community Police Forum, confirmed the army deployment to Kraaifontein and welcomed it, saying order needs to be restored in areas such as Bloekombos and Wallacedene, where violent crime is constantly rising.
“Apart from gangsterism, other major crime elements such as extortion and xenophobia need to be rooted out,” he says.
