George Herald | Policing in Hanover Park questioned

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Policing in Hanover Park questioned
12:30 (GMT+2), Tue, 12 June 2012

NATIONAL NEWS - The quality of policing in the gangster-ridden community of Hanover Park in the Western Cape was sharply questioned on Tuesday.

MEC Dan Plato said there had been no convictions for gang-related murders or attempted murders in the last three years.

"Something is seriously wrong here, and we want to know why, and we want to know what the police are doing to fix this disturbing state of affairs," he told reporters in Cape Town.

"The residents of Hanover Park have lived in fear from the gangsters, waiting for the police to take action, but based on this set of information it would appear that they are losing the fight."

According to the SA Police Service (SAPS), 61 cases of attempted murder and 26 murder cases were opened between January 2009 and March 2012.

Of these, 54 arrests had been made -- but not one conviction had been secured.

Plato said the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was equally concerned with the statistics.

The NPA, community safety department and the SAPS were expected to meet shortly to pinpoint reasons for the low conviction rate.

Plato said Hanover Park was one of the most gangster-ridden suburbs on the Cape Flats, with a high level of related violence.

He said the statistics proved the need for a specialised police gang unit in the province.

Source : Sapa