Ben de Vos, Independent criminologist
Gangs and gang violence have so become ubiquitous and synonymous with our lived realities that the lines have blurred between the violence we experienced yesterday, today and apprehension for tomorrow.
A lived reality characterised by a mass hysteria only caused by an onslaught of genocidal proportions.
The flaring up of gang violence we’ve experienced in Mitchell’s Plain over the last few days can vastly be attributed to the expansion of most prominent gangs in Mitchell’s Plain, inter alia, the Ugly Americans and Fancy Boy gangs, for power and influence and turf and territory.
There is always a concomitant retaliation element that intensifies this brutal gang violence and what is of grave concern is the level of disregard for the law and the lives of innocent by-standers, including children caught in the cross-fire.
What we’ve experienced over the last few weeks is a resurgence and escalation of gang violence tantamount to the eruption of a civil war, or “scorching earth” in Beacon Valley, Tafelsig and Lentegeur, leaving dead bodies and many wounded scattered in public spectacles and displays.
Reactive efforts to quell the ongoing and lingering gang violence are evidently not adequate and proven to be ineffective on a long-term basis.
Mediating peace talks and truces have been overrated and are a repertoire of futility. Rhapsodies of reactive policing interventions have been proven to be largely ineffective and should not to be regarded as the panacea for deeply the rooted gang-problem in communities.
Long-term promising prospects within community policing and sector policing strategies also seem to appear as “lame duck” approaches as a result of proper implementation and sheer will.
Furthermore, gangsterism is so deeply engrained in our communities that its normalisation is conspicuous. Community members are not forthcoming and collaborative with information sharing with the police.
Gang involvement of family members are rife and exacerbate the problem and others remain silent for fear of gang retaliation and retribution.
Lastly, there is a huge lacuna or vacuum and a trust deficit between the police and the community for obvious reasons: police corruption, apathy and brutality.
We desperately need a sense of urgency for communities to take ownership of safety and claim back streets and spaces. That can only happen through mass mobilisation, rekindling the spirit of activism and advocacy and the building of collective efficacy in communities.
The reliance only on law enforcement solutions has been proven inefficient to deal with the problem of gangsterism. The time has come for more community-owned and integrated approaches.