Cape Town blames criminal justice system for inability to curb crime

The South African Police Service (SAPS) execute Operation Shanela II.

The City of Cape Town has denied allegations that it is unable to curb crime, attributing the issue to the failures of the criminal justice system.

The city has allocated a record-breaking R 6.8 billion to its Safety and Security Directorate for the 2026/27 financial year.

Violence on the Cape Flats continues despite the deployment of the National Defence Force.

Safety and Security MMC JP Smith says, “Despite the whole of society interventions that the municipality is making and is currently busy ramping up, we have a special task team that is just looking at that intervention.”

“As long as the gangs go as unfettered as they are, gang leaders can procure wealth and corrupt systems as they are, without the effective intervention in the criminal justice system”, he adds.

Smith says, “ Without meaningful conviction, gang murders have a 2% or 2.5% conviction rate. As long as the criminal justice system remains this fragile and ineffective, we are going to have a problem.”