THE Bishop Lavis Crime Prevention Forum (BLCPF) is calling for better trained law enforcement officers.
This comes after 23 people were arrested in Valhalla Park following an attack on Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers on Friday.
Patrolling officers came across a suspect running with a firearm. The skelm pointed it at the vehicle, causing the driver to lose control and hit a wall, injuring three residents.
Kwaad mense retaliated by stoning the vehicle and attempted to set it alight after stealing equipment.
BLCPF Chairperson Graham Lindhorst reckons that could have been avoided if the officers were trained well.
He said: “The BLCPF further calls on the City of Cape Town to resist the temptation to deploy Law Enforcement Officers that are not properly trained to combat gang violence into our communities.
"We further say that our communities don't just need more police visibility. What we need is properly trained Law Enforcement Officers spearheaded by Intelligence driven Crime Prevention Operations.
We call on the decision makers to stop making decisions for us in communities without us.
"We have noticed the fanfare last week when politicians deployed without input from the community over 700 Metro Police Officers to do what they think is needed in the community.
"We want to remind them of the Western Cape Safety Plan that was rolled out after the 2019 General Elections. Truth be told this Safety Plan is failing dismally given the rise in gang related murders on the Cape Flats.
"We reiterate that decision makers must realise communities have the intelligence needed and know what must be done to deal with crime in the community.”
Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security responded: “LEAP officers undergo extensive training, which includes the Peace Officer’s Course Traffic Warden Course, Firearm competency as per the Firearms Control Act and various in-house courses which also includes in service training.
"The suggestion that they were attacked as a result of 'not being properly trained' is not only false but an apparent justification for the attack. The collision was an accident, and our Law Enforcement Department has reached out to the individuals who were injured. The response of bystanders after the accident can never be justified.
Crime Intelligence is the competency of the National Police Department and not City enforcement agencies.
"We agree that more needs to be done, hence the City has continually appealed to SAPS to devolve policing powers to competent municipalities.
"The work done by our Security Information Management Services (SSIMS) department who worked alongside the community to arrest those behind the attack shows we are capable and ready.”