DA Pleads Again: “Send the Army Now for Severely Understaffed WC Police”

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the “frightening numbers” released yesterday, of the ratio of police to people in the Western Cape, further reinforces their call for the government to please deploy the army to assist the severely understaffed police stations, particularly in vulnerable areas where crime is spirally even more out of control.

The Western Cape’s MPP Mark Wiley revealed yesterday that “the police to population ratio has worsened from one police officer to every 385 people in 2016, to one police officer to every 509 people in 2018”.

In other words, each officer is now serving approximately 124 more residents that two years ago.

The Western Cape figures are also far worse than the national average… which is one officer per 369 residents.

In a media statement on Thursday, Bonginkosi Madikizela – DA Western Cape Provincial Leader – said: “Until police under-resourcing is ultimately addressed in the province, the deployment of the SANDF can act as visible peace keeping and will free up the police to do the necessary investigative work needed to not only prevent crime but ensure that those perpetrators of crime are in fact arrested.

“Our people are suffering at the hands of criminals and gangs. We see too many mothers burying their children after stray bullets claim their lives. Gang shootouts on our streets are out of control and the police peacekeeping struggling to keep people safe.”

Some suspicion has been cast over the government for deliberately making the DA-led Western Cape less governable in an effort to gain more votes in next year’s national elections.

The DA said that although policing is a national government competency, they are working with communities, policing forums and neighbourhood watch structures to provide additional safety and security for residents of the province.

“Again, we call on the ANC national government to put the safety of people first and deploy the army at once,” says the DA.