3 years ago
1
ARTICLE AD BOX
Western Cape police officers have been pelted officers are pelted with stones by angry residents.
- Police management is concerned about their members being attacked and pelted with stones, while attending crime scenes in parts of the Cape Flats.
- Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile warned communities that attacks on officers would not be tolerated.
- Manenberg CPF said the stoning of police officers is often due to a lack of trust between residents and the police.
Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant General Thembisile Patekile has issued a stern warning to Cape Flats communities who resort to stone-throwing to target officers attending crime scenes, particularly in areas like Manenberg.
Police say more and more officers are coming under attack by local residents who prevent them from carrying out their duties, or arresting suspects.
In most cases, officers are pelted with stones, while their vehicles and equipment are also targeted and damaged.
Patekile urged residents to cooperate with integrated forces in the area to contribute to a safer environment for all who live there.
"Members of the community who participate in criminal activities should not expect any mercy when they find themselves on the wrong side of the law, as they will be dealt with accordingly," he warned.
In recent weeks, News24 has reported that stoning cases have become so severe that, in some instances, officers are often left with no other choice but to let the suspects go, and leave the area.
In the most recent stoning attack, just under three weeks ago, on 11 March, law enforcement officers came under attack by residents who targeted and damaged their vehicles and equipment.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Malcolm Pojie said at the time:
Members were prevented by community members to affect an arrest of a suspected drug peddler. This act by the community cannot be condoned and, therefore, an appeal to communities to cooperate with law enforcement entities
Police said that when officers came under attack by residents, it helped wanted suspects evade arrest.
They added that the recent spate of attacks on SAPS members and other law enforcement agencies in the Manenberg policing precinct was "regrettable and unwarranted".
"Integrated forces deployed in the area aim to safeguard and serve those communities and fight the scourge of gang violence in the area... This act by the community cannot be condoned and, therefore, an appeal to communities to cooperate with law enforcement entities," Pojie said.
PICS | 'We are gatvol': Residents in Cape Town suburb build wall to curb crime
City of Cape Town Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyason confirmed that their members had also been attacked, with two of their vehicles being badly damaged during an incident in Manenberg.
Dyason said that on Tuesday last week, 21 March, officers were again pelted with stones during protest action in Du Noon when residents set tyres alight.
He added:
Officers were stoned after an illegal structure was damaged. Fortunately, no officer was injured, and our vehicles were not damaged.
Guy Lamb, a professor of political science at Stellenbosch University, said stone-throwing incidents could be attributed to many historical and political factors, with protests being against poor service delivery and poor policing.
Lamb said it could also illustrate tensions between the state, community members and gangsters, and could be indicative of a generally negative attitude towards the police on the Cape Flats, which had existed since the apartheid days.
'Devastating'
"If we go back to the 1970s and 1980s, there were members of security forces who had stones thrown at them during protests on the Cape Flats from those in the liberation movement."
Lamb said that stone-throwing at police was often perpetrated by lower-level gangsters who did not have access to weapons, as well as young men who "want to cause trouble".
Echoing Lamb's sentiment, Manenberg community policing forum chairperson Vernon Visagie said the increase in stone-throwing attacks on officers was due to a lack of trust between residents and the police.
"It is by time that top police officials issue warnings to the residents because this is not on. There is a total disregard for officers in uniform. Residents cannot be allowed to disrespect the law like this. Some parents cover up for their children that are stoning the officers. It is wrong," Visagie said.
How safe is your neighbourhood? Find out by using News24's CrimeCheck
According to the CPF, what is happening in the area is "devastating".
"We are witnessing how more public violence dockets are being opened daily at police, and it's quite sad. Adults are now also getting involved in the stoning of the cops, and it's not right," Visagie said.
He added that police management should be firm in their warnings to residents that these attacks will not be tolerated.
Newsletter
Editor's Notebook
Get News24 editor Adriaan Basson's weekly take on the news, first and exclusive in your inbox every Monday morning.
Western Cape CPF chairperson Fransina Lukas said they were aware of the increase in stoning incidents on the Cape Flats.
"It is mostly children that get told by the gangsters to do these things. We are very concerned about this because the very same residents that are stoning our cops are the same residents who call the police when they are attacked, or gangsters murder their family members," she said.
The CPF said they urged residents to refrain from these criminal activities and allow police to do their job.
"If residents are caught stoning our officers, they must be arrested so that they can get their day in court," added Lukas.
English (US)