SAPS fail to combat drugs in Gauteng

24 January 2018

Many communities across Gauteng are afflicted with the scourge of drugs, yet the South African Police Service (SAPS) are failing to tackle this growing problem.

Our communities have lost confidence in SAPS officers and have started to take the law into their own hands, raiding suspected drug dens and setting alight houses.

This week, Krugersdorp residents meted out vigilante justice against suspected drug dealers in response to poor service they receive from the police. Protests result in violence, injury, damage to state and private property and allow criminals to take advantage of the chaos to commit crime.

Unfortunately, SAPS only acts when the situation spirals out of control, and when they do, they are not trained well enough or equipped to deal with drug related issues.

This is evident from then episode in Vanderbijl Park last year where police officers were attacked by suspected drug dealers in a house suspected to be a drug den.

The establishment of specialised narcotics units, as well as specialised training must become a reality if the war on drugs is to be won.

The ANC-run provincial government has failed to uproot drugs in our communities and it is eating away at the fabric of our society. Gauteng is in desperate in need of a new beginning that will bring a real change and strategic ways of fighting crime such as drugs.

The DA calls on both Gauteng Department of Community Safety MEC, Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane and Gauteng SAPS Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Deliwe de Lange to urgently intervene to ensure resident’s safety and to effectively fight drugs in the province.

Issued by Michele Clarke, DA Gauteng Spokesperson for Community Safety, 24 January 2018