Dear Editor
Another weekend on the Cape Flats has ended in heartbreak. More children shot. More families shattered. And still, the ANC government sits on its hands while communities are terrorised by gangs and criminals.
The system is broken and it’s costing children their lives.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has long argued for the devolution of policing powers to capable provincial and local governments. Cape Town’s ongoing crisis shows exactly why that change is urgent.
Between 2021 and January 2025, law enforcement officers in Cape Town seized 1 670 illegal firearms. But out of all those cases, only 81 led to convictions. That’s a conviction rate of just 5%. Why? Because local officers can arrest criminals, but they can’t build watertight dockets. That job lies with SAPS – a centralised, overburdened, and underperforming system.
The SAPS Act gives the Minister of Police the power to fix this. He can devolve investigative powers to municipalities through regulation, but he refuses. That’s not just a bad decision; it’s a political choice. And it’s costing lives.
The DA has a clear, workable safety plan that can turn things around. It includes:
- Localised policing with officers embedded in communities;
- Expanded forensic and intelligence capacity using real-time data;
- Specialised units to tackle gangs, drugs, GBV, and rural crime
- A full overhaul of SAPS — better training, equipment, and accountability
In the short term, we urgently call for:
- More boots on the ground in high-risk areas
- Specialised GBV and child protection units
- Real consequences for stations that fail their communities
- Smarter, data-driven policing
- Integrated coordination between SAPS, the NPA, Correctional Services, and Social Development to support victims and ensure real justice
Children are being gunned down in their homes, on their streets, and even in their schools. This can’t keep happening.
Protecting our children isn’t just a constitutional duty, it’s a basic moral one. South Africa needs a government that protects its people. Not one that looks away.
Regards
Lisa Schickerling MP
DA Deputy Spokesperson on Police