As gang violence continues seemingly unabated and without consequence, Cape Town communities are taking all the help they can get.
The Manenberg Community Policing Forum says the deployment of additional police and LEAP officers in the area has made a difference there.
Additional officers were sent to the area following a spate of shootings.
The Manenberg CPF’s Vernon Visagie says police visibility is crucial.
“We are asking assistance again from SAPS’s side, law enforcement and Metro Police (City of Cape Town), just to be visible in the area and keep on what they are doing. Because we are seeing a difference in our community”.
Meanwhile, residents of Hanover Park are hoping for divine intervention in support of their quest for peace.
The Community Policing Forum and some residents – participated in a prayer walk on Sunday – led jointly by pastors and imams.
This follows a spate of murders that have taken place in the gang-infested community – including the death of a 6-year-old boy caught in a suspected gang crossfire last week.
The CPF’s Yaseen Johaar says he hopes the initiative will be the first of many.
“We walk around but do not engage gangsters or prey in those red zone areas. This was the first session where we walked around and prayed in those areas. The initiative was well accepted by the community”.
