South African acting police minister urges "holistic response" to Western Cape gang violence crisis

Cape Town [South Africa], September 20: South African Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has called for a "holistic response" that combines tougher policing with social investment to curb escalating gang violence in Western Cape Province.
"The crisis of gang violence in the Western Cape ... is tearing our communities apart, extinguishing lives, and undermining hope for the future among our people. This crisis demands our full attention, our compassion, and our collective action," Cachalia said when addressing a mini-plenary session of the National Assembly on Friday.
He noted that gang violence in the province has reached alarming levels this year, with people being shot and killed or seriously injured "on a daily basis."
According to him, over the past six months, from April to September, the South African Police Service has already recorded 490 gang-related murders.
Cachalia warned that gangs are increasingly recruiting young people, adding that nearly 120 young people under 18 were shot during that period, which resulted in 23 deaths, with children under 14 accounting for five deaths.
Since August, gang murders have risen 18 percent compared with the same period last year. "This is completely unacceptable and cannot go on," he said. "We must therefore commit to a holistic response that integrates policing with prevention, prosecution with social investment, and enforcement with rehabilitation."
The minister outlined a wide package of measures: reducing the proliferation of illegal firearms, bolstering community policing capacity, strengthening the criminal justice chain, expanding youth intervention programs, and enhancing education and mental health services.
"Gang violence is not merely the output of individual criminality; it is woven into social, economic, and institutional contexts," said Cachalia. "We must pursue a balanced strategy: strengthen the instruments of law and order while investing in people, places, and possibilities."
Source: Xinhua News Agency