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Cape Town – Gang-ridden Manenberg is short of more than 20 officers, police management told Parliament’s portfolio committee on policing on Friday.
But these vacancies would be filled "very soon", provincial commissioner Lieutenant General Khombinkosi Jula said.
The station has a staff complement of 187 officers, the portfolio committee heard, but there are 24 vacant posts.
Vacancies are generally an ongoing problem in the force, Jula said.
“These are created through natural attrition. As soon as the members have been cleared from the system – whether it is members who have passed on, resigned or are no longer physically fit to perform their duties – those posts are identified [to be filled],” he said.
Jula could not tell the committee how long the station has been short of two dozen officers.
“It varies. More than six months ago it wouldn’t have been 24. You have one member resigning, one member retires, one member passes on. It’s a figure that is fluid.
“These posts are going to fill up very soon through post promotions and members who come from the police college.”
Resources
Deputy provincial commissioner for detection services Major General Jeremy Vearey said any police force in the world would say they do not have enough resources.
“But the point is, look at how we manage with what we have... in terms of successes against drug dealers. This particular precinct has exceeded our expectations,” Vearey said.
“The point is you never have enough. The work out there is not a market where you are controlling the work you produce. Ten murders can occur here in one month and next month there will be three.
“Your capacity has to be flexible to adjust. We have that flexibility to support the station commander with additional detectives when he needs it from the [provincial office] to handle their workload.”
The gang war erupted after members of the Hard Livings turned against their own, Jula said.
“The conflict started when the Hard Livings gang members shot at their own, [those] that they believed were responsible for robbing females of their SASSA [grant] money,” he told the portfolio committee.
“These Hard Livings' gang members [who were targeted] then jumped ship to the Americans' camp as they knew the Hard Livings were targeting them.”
But according to information received by police, those who left possibly took the gang’s artillery with them to the rival gang, which led to the violence.
Since the start of the month, 17 alleged gangsters have been shot dead. Fifteen have been injured.
