Police Chief blasted for ‘inadequate’ gang violence data

WESTERN Cape Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile has come under fire for his presentation gang violence, which the Portfolio Committee on Police has slammed as misleading and inadequate.

- GENEVIEVE SERRA

Despite claims that the situation is “under control”, alarming statistics show that 90% of gang-related murders nationwide occurred in the Western Cape.

National Assembly Police Portfolio Committee chairperson Ian Cameron accused Patekile of misrepresenting the extent of gang violence on the Cape Flats.

“The content we’ve been given today is wholly inadequate and in several respects, even misleading,” said Cameron.

“The use of a single table on contact crimes at seven station is not a meaningful reflection of the situation. The 2024/25 dataset is inconsistent and unreliable compared to 2023/2024 dataset, which was more complete.”

He stated that the Anti-Gang Unit was understaffed, poorly equipped, and operated in a structural vacuum.

While the K9 and Flying Squad units are also under-resourced and lack training and that Public Order Policing vehicles were mostly not operational.

“The third quarter stats from SAPS itself offer a far clearer picture of the scale of gang violence, yet they were ignored today.