Cape Town Warns SANDF Deployment Alone Won’t Solve Gang Violence Crisis

Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Safety, JP Smith, has warned that sending the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) into gang-affected communities will not solve the country’s violence crisis unless it is backed by strong policing, investigations, and successful prosecutions.

Smith was speaking on CapeTalk in response to reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering deploying the military to violence-hit areas across South Africa.

He pushed back against what he called a “prophet of doom” narrative that gang violence in the country cannot be controlled, arguing that international examples prove otherwise.

“There are many countries that have had serious gang violence problems that have brought them under control,” he said. “It is about successfully investigating, prosecuting, and convicting the persons.”

Effective Policing and Prosecutions Are the Real Solution

Smith said the real crisis lies in South Africa’s low conviction rate for gang-related murders, not the absence of soldiers on the streets.

“We are going to have to invest in the forensic capabilities, bump up our number of detectives, and have the right specialized units under the right monitoring and oversight,” he said. “It can all be done.”

While acknowledging that SANDF deployment could help stabilise volatile communities, he stressed that the impact would be temporary.

“They do not have powers of arrest, search and seizure,” Smith said. “They will temporarily prevent people from shooting. That is a desirable outcome. But as soon as they withdraw, it will resume if you haven’t dealt with the root problem.”

N2 Safety Project Shows Progress, City Says

Smith also addressed growing public concern over safety on major Cape Town routes, particularly the N2 near the airport and the Century City off-ramp on the N1.

He said the City launched a dedicated N2 safety project in September 2024, working with SAPS and provincial traffic authorities.

“We’ve added 37 extra officers and, in the last seven months, made 148 arrests,” Smith said. “Two arrests on 8 January seem to have had an immediate impact, with a dramatic reduction in incidents.”

According to Smith, most incidents reported on freeways are not criminal in nature.

“In seven months, we responded to about 552 calls on the freeways. Only 86 were crime-related,” he said. “Most were breakdowns, flat tyres or vehicles that ran out of fuel.”

He added that response times have improved significantly, with officers now reaching around 80% of N2 incidents within five minutes.

Fear Driven by Misinformation and Social Media

Despite the figures, Smith acknowledged that many motorists still feel unsafe, partly due to misleading reporting and social media amplification.

“We’ve seen overall response numbers reported as if they were criminal incidents, when in fact a very small number related to crime,” he said.

He encouraged motorists to report incidents to SAPS or the City’s emergency number and to save the number on their phones for quick access.

City Plans New Infrastructure to Secure Hotspots

Smith also pointed to neglected infrastructure as a factor making attacks easier, especially along poorly secured freeway sections.

“There are supposed to be walls or fences along any freeway all over the world,” he said. “Here, they’ve been neglected.”

He confirmed that the City will soon go out to tender for higher, reinforced barriers in priority areas, with funding already allocated.

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“We cannot wait for somebody else to step up,” Smith said. “We will get that moving.”

Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia and the leadership of the South African police service are currently working on implementing a strategic plan to curb the alarming gang-related killings in Cape Town.

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