Why Fighting Crime in Townships Needs Intense Collaboration Between Police and Communities
South Africans have become even more anxious about their safety due to the recent spate of tavern shootings across the country. A crime expert explains what is wrong with safety in South Africa and how we can fight back.
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In the past month, South Africans woke up several times to news reports about tavern shootings on weekends, which had many people worried about the reasons behind the shootings.
The first tavern shootings took place a week after 21 teenagers died at Enyobeni Tavern in the Eastern Cape and South Africans at large were still mourning their deaths. Briefly News takes an in-depth look at the tavern shootings and what needs to be done in the future.
Timeline: What you need to know about tavern shootings in South Africa
The first tavern shooting took place in Katlehong in the Gauteng province and two people were gunned down on Friday, 8 July. The shooting was not widely reported until Sunday, after more shootings were reported that same weekend.
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On 10 July 2022, a group of men armed with guns fired shots at patrons of a tavern in the informal settlement of Nomzamo in Soweto, Gauteng. A total of 15 people were killed in the incident.
South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Sello stated at the time that 23 people who were caught in the crossfire and 11 people were rushed to the hospital, where two people later died, according to IOL.
On the same day, four people were killed at Samkelisiwe tavern in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. In a similar fashion as the Soweto shooting, armed men stormed the drinking hole and started firing shots at patrons.
Two weeks later, another tavern shooting was reported in Ga-Rankwa, in Pretoria, after two men driving a silver Volkswagen Polo fired shots at patrons, killing two people and injuring seven, according to EWN.
These are just a few examples of the spate of violence that has been seen in South Africa, particularly in townships, in recent days. The shootings have left many people feeling anxious about going out and enjoying a drink or two at their local drinking hole out of fear of being shot.
Speaking exclusively to Briefly News, crime expert Tinyiko Ngoveni from the University of South Africa's Criminology and Security Science department stated that tavern shootings are a new trend of criminality in South Africa, adding that citizens should be worried.
"The public must worry about going out to the taverns to socialise and drink because we don’t know at the moment about the exact motive for these types of killings. Until the police find all the perpetrators and their modus operandi and make a conviction, the worry must remain," said Ngoveni.
Are the tavern shootings a random act of violence or organised crime?
A few weeks following the tavern shootings, National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola stated that the shootings are not linked to organised crime.
Masemola stated that while the investigations into the incidents are still ongoing, initial investigations pointed to extortion and drugs as the motives, according to an EWN report. These sentiments were shared by the Minister of Police Bheki Cele as well.
However, crime experts disagree with the commissioner's and police minister's assessment of the shootings and say that the shootings have the hallmarks of organised crime.
Africa Portal defines organised crime as a syndicate or well-structured group with a clear leadership which is involved in criminal activities that usually involve drug trafficking, money laundering or vehicle theft, and more.
Crime expert Jenni Irish-Qhoboshean recently stated that the tavern shootings across South Africa look like organised crime because they have the same modus operandi, reports eNCA.
"I think what we're arguing is that these are organised crime incidences. While we don't know all the motives at this stage, the modus operandi has all the hallmarks of organised crime and it needs to be treated as such," said Irish-Qhoboshean.
Ngoveni shares the same sentiments as Irish-Qhoboshean, adding that unless the definition of organised crime has changed, these shootings should be classified as such.
"I don’t agree with the National Commissioner because the killings are almost similar, so you cannot declassify such modus operandi outside organised crime. To me, this qualifies to be classified under organised crime as it is persisting in a similar modus operandi unless the term 'organised crimeo is defined outside the current experience," said Ngoveni.
Irish-Qhoboshean added that South Africa has the tools to deal with organised crimes and these specialised units should be brought on board to investigate the tavern shootings.
Fighting crime in the townships
Ngoveni explained that to fight crimes in the townships, Community Policing Forum (CPF) should be implemented and these forums should be given full support from community members.
"The police ratio versus the South African population is nowhere to be justified. Just look, for example, at big townships such as Soweto, Mabopane or Mamelodi and compare it to the number of police stations and number of police per shift," explained Ngoveni.
He further elaborated that South Africa does not have efficient policing because the police do not have the numbers to deal with criminality, which is why they need support from the community. Ngoveni added that the police do have resources, but those resources are not enough because of the lack of manpower.
"It is through the collaboration between police and members of the community to fight and minimise this criminal behaviour. There is no way that police alone can fight and win against crime," said Ngoveni.
Ngoveni further stated that the State Security Agency needs to return to its proactive crime prevention basics and specialised units that have fallen away should also be re-implemented, adding that Parliament should also be involved by tightening legislation.
"With the support of the relevant stakeholders, Parliament must urgently revise South African criminal laws and offence schedules. For example, a life sentence; what do we mean about a life sentence, because a life sentence is supposed to be life in prison without parole?" added Ngoveni.
Lastly, Ngoveni stated that South Africa needs prisons and correctional centres to complement the type of crimes committed and the sentence.
Explained: How serious are the crimes Cyril Ramaphosa is being accused of in relation to the farm theft?
In other news, Briefly News previously reported that money laundering, kidnapping, defeating the ends of justice and abusing state resources are some of the allegations that have been levelled against President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The claims were brought forward by former State Security Agency head Arthur Fraser, who lodged a criminal complaint against the sitting president.
In an affidavit, Fraser stated that Ramaphosa was robbed of large sums of cash estimated to have been between $4 million and $8 million (R62 million and R124 million) on 9 February 2020 at his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo.
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Source: Briefly News
