The Bishop Lavis Crime Prevention Forum (BLCPF), together with the community, is deeply disappointed by the release of the suspects who were arrested for extortion and murder following the killing of a Somali shop owner in Bonteheuwel just over a week ago.

Three incidents

TygerBurger reported last week on three incidents in which foreign shop owners were targeted by extortionists, and one, known as Umar, was shot and killed.

In the latest incident, suspects were caught on CCTV cameras shooting at a shopkeeper, after which a woman was seen taking the gun from the shooter. After her face was published online, she, together with other suspects, was arrested. Four of the suspects have since been released on bail.

Graham Lindhorst from the BLCPF, says the community’s disappointment arises from law enforcement authorities giving hope and a sense of safety to the community by rushing to arrest suspects, only to release them again even before they go to court due to insufficient evidence.

“We call on the police to stop rushing to effect arrests and then investigating, but rather to investigate in order to arrest, as it will ensure successful prosecution. We are further of the view that the police in the Western Cape are not winning the battle against extortion and crime as a whole, because communities and local businesses do not feel safe at all. The communities and business owners live in fear, as no breakthrough with regard to extortion and crime in general has been made,” says Lindhorst.

Worrying

According to Lindhorst, one of the most worrying issues is the reluctance of community members to channel information to the police, as they simply do not trust them.

“The community fears that the criminals are given information by the very officials they should trust, and that whistle-blowers are risking their lives and those of their families. We call on police management to put measures in place to deal with the concerns of whistle-blowers, which will ultimately result in information about crime being brought forward. This will, in turn, contribute to solving and reducing crime,” says Lindhorst.

The woman who was arrested for taking the gun from the shooter will be back in court on 27 July.

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