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The Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape strongly condemns the African National Congress’ attempt to score cheap political points following the recent surge in violent crimes across the province. Over the past two weeks, lives have been lost in senseless acts of violence that have torn apart families, weakened our social fabric, and shaken communities. What is needed now is not political opportunism, but an honest effort to address the root causes behind these grim statistics.

Yesterday’s incident in which two adult males were shot in front of a police station in Mitchell’s Plain highlights the growing distrust in, and the consequent failure of, the South African Police Service. The inability of law enforcement to guarantee safety even at their own premises highlights a deep crisis of confidence in policing and public security.

The truth is that the Western Cape remains severely under-resourced in its crime-fighting efforts- despite policing being the sole mandate of the South African Police Service (SAPS). This is an issue the DA has raised repeatedly, both formally and informally. Despite these challenges, the provincial government and local authorities have leveraged their limited powers to strengthen safety interventions wherever possible.

A reply to a parliamentary question revealed that the latest detection rate for violent crimes such as murder, assault, and attempted murder in the Western Cape stands at a shocking 7.04%. The detection rate measures the amount of crimes that are solved by SAPS. This alarmingly low figure highlights the dire need for increased resources and urgent intervention to bring about meaningful change in crime rates across the province.

DA MPP Benedicta Van Minnen, Spokesperson on Police Oversight and Community Safety, said: “Gang violence and related serious crimes have been a long-standing challenge in South Africa, and especially here in the Western Cape. Every leader has had to confront this reality. Instead of accepting it as the norm, we have established community initiatives, supported youth development through programmes such as the Chrysalis Academy, increased visible policing, and even raised a memorandum of understanding to secure greater policing powers. Yet, calls for the most basic policing resources continue to fall on deaf ears.”

Just last week, SAPS called on retired detectives to rejoin the service, underlining the critical shortage of personnel. This shortage has contributed to low case resolution rates, undermining efforts to prosecute offenders and put criminals behind bars. Without adequate investigative and crime-fighting capacity, the fight against crime cannot succeed.

We recognise the efforts SAPS has made in recent weeks to heed the call for action. However, we must make it clear: our interventions in the Western Cape are not about playing the blame game. They are about protecting every resident and visitor to our province. Our calls on SAPS are simply demands that the service fulfils its constitutionally enshrined duties.

We have invited the SAPS Commissioner in the Western Cape to urgently brief the committee on the increasingly dire situation in the province, giving him two weeks to respond. In the meantime, we will not allow cheap political point-scoring to take precedence over the lives and livelihoods of our people.

Issued by Benedicta Van Minnen, MPP - DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Police Oversight and Community Safety