On Thursday June 28, DA Shadow Minister of Police, Zakhele Mbhele and Ward 79 councillor Solomon Philander, conducted an inspection of the Mitchell’s Plain police station.
Mr Mbhele said the recent death of Stacey Adams had exposed the slow reaction by the South African Police Service (SAPS), from the moment she was reported missing.
Six-year-old Stacey was found buried in a shallow grave, next to her alleged killer’s wendy house in Eastridge.
Mr Mbhele said the Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS) was short of two vehicles based in their allocations, and that a dysfunctional police force posed a great risk to the safety of vulnerable women and children in the area.
“There seems to be no plan to respond to the escalating violence in Western Cape townships such as Mitchell’s Plain and Nyanga. It is high time that the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) is deployed in Mitchell’s Plain to help protect women and children, who have become targets of senseless violence, and which the SAPS cannot stop.
“Where the SAPS is failing to protect South Africa’s most vulnerable, the SANDF should step in and assist,” said Mr Mbhele.
To this, provincial secretary of the ANC, Faiez Jacobs added: “The ANC is even more perplexed that these crimes are happening among neighbours and people who should be standing together in the battle for a better life. We also acknowledge the difficulty in dealing with such crimes. We cannot have a police officer in every home, every street, standing between neighbours and family members. Our best weapon in dealing with such crimes is the community itself. People who commit these crimes are known, and must therefore be watched by the community closely before they commit such evil deeds.”
When Plainsman asked Major General Johan Brand, acting cluster commander for Mitchell’s Plain police, about the visit, he said it hadn’t been an inspection, but ‘a briefing on the progress on the investigation to ensure that policies and procedures were followed.
“The meeting also focused on relations built among police and other safety structures involved in the community especially when it comes to a situation such as the murder of Stacey. The current resources are being filled by doing a recruitment process to improve and fill the gaps in police work. We have sufficient resources for services.”