Western Cape Police Commissioner, Thembisile Patekile, says gang-related murders remain high despite several alleged gang leaders being in prison.

Gang violence has been identified as the second leading cause of murders in the province, during the release of the latest crime statistics.

Patekile says the escalation of violence could be linked to the fierce competition for positions when leaders are arrested and 1,068 murders were recorded for the period between January and March.

He says, “65% of all recorded crime incidents happened in the Cape Town Metro. During this period, 208 killings, which account for 19.6% of all murders, were gang related. Most alleged gang leaders are currently before court on charges which include murder and the contravention of the organized crime act.”

Patekile says this is a focused strategy.

“We would want to arrest everybody. We have looked at an organized crime approach, so that we look at the those that are contributing more on gang violence, but we’re coming down to the runners. We are now on the leadership because we said we wanted to dismantle the gangs and disable them. We started on top, and as we go down piecemeal … yes, it’s going to take time, but this is (what) we are determined to do,” says Patekile.

In recent months, around 50 alleged gang members were arrested in nine gang groupings. However, Patekile says the arrests often result in violence.

“Number one problem is a conflict within that gang for leadership, and then the second one will be the other competing gangs wanting to take over the area that the leadership of those gangs have been taken away. That is a very most problematic part. I must admit we need to find another wisdom of how we sustain that when we have a take down,” he adds.

Firearms and knives seem to be the weapons of choice for the attacks.

They mostly happen in Delft, Mfuleni, Nyanga, Philippi East and Kraaifontein and Francina.

Lukas of the Western Cape Community Policing Forum has welcomed the decrease in numbers of the most violent crimes and is calling for more community involvement.

“It is a concern, but we also acknowledge there can be no quick fix solutions to the problem because it’s a societal problem and therefore, it will need a whole of society approach to wrestle our children from gangs and gangsterism,” says Lukas.

MEC for Police Oversight and Community Safety, Anroux Marais, has reiterated the importance of a closer working relationship with the SAPS.

800 new SAPS members are expected to be deployed to the province by December.

Toekomsrus residents terrorised by gangs violence: