Policing informal settlements a challenge

Community Policing Forums (CPFs) have raised concerns over challenges in policing in informal settlements due to a lack of road names, street lights and proper addresses that make it difficult for police to respond to emergencies.

Aidan David, the eThekwini district chairperson for the SAPS Board and member of the Isipingo CPF, said that the growth of informal settlements and the lack of infrastructure contribute to the problem.

“With regards to response times in the informal settlements, it is very difficult because there are no road names, there are no direction points and it is very difficult for the police to get to anybody in need. This delay causes more harm to the victim,” said David.

He urged people living in informal settlements to join their local CPF and neighbourhood watch groups “As a CPF in the Isipingo area, we have formalised a neighbourhood patrol watch and we also have a CPF sub-forum running from the area in informal settlements.”

David said the issue of alcohol abuse was a significant factor in crime within these settlements, and unregulated shebeens exacerbated the issue.

“We have to try and regulate the shebeens in these areas. There are no regulated times as to when the shebeens should close or when there should be patrols in the area. I have never seen SAPS vehicles go and raid a shebeen in an informal settlement, but they go and raid the shebeens in formal settlements.

“Drugs and alcohol play a very important part in fuelling criminal activities in the informal and formal settlements.”

Last week, KZN police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, while visiting a crime scene in uMlazi where six men were shot dead, highlighted the role of alcohol in crime and called for responsible liquor sales.

“We understand that there are economic challenges in the country, but liquor remains our biggest problem.

The level of crime generated from the liquor outlets is just too much for us to manage in the province. So we plead with those liquor establishments to sell their liquor in a responsible manner according to the law,” he said.

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has also stressed the urgency of clearing slums and addressing human settlement patterns to improve safety and security.

“We need to clear slums. People cannot live in slums forever. The informal sector develops into an overwhelming and engulfing sector; it comes with all sorts of things. People are not easy to identify, there are no addresses, streets and lights. So when a criminal gets there and commits a crime, it is very difficult to imagine where in the first place.

“We are saying, other departments at other levels, national, provincial and local, must begin to radically address human settlement patterns and rehabilitate the situation. Otherwise somebody may come and hide in these places knowing they can never be identified anywhere in the world and that is not desirable,” said Mchunu.

Thapelo Mohapi, of Abahlali base Mjondolo, emphasised the need for upgrading and re-blocking informal settlements to improve access and safety.

“Of course informal settlements are congested because there is no access to land. It is unfortunate that the minister is raising an issue that has been there for years. For years, we have been calling for the upgrading and re-blocking of the informal settlements, so that they can have access roads and when there is an emergency, people can get help.

“As poor people, we have to die in large numbers to be recognised,” said Mohapi.

The Mercury