National Organised Crime Task Team head Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has called for officials across the criminal justice system to be closely scrutinised for possible links to criminal gangs. .
The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Provincial Commissioner said gang influence extends beyond the police into the judiciary and Correctional Services. He made the remarks at Parliament’s Summit on Gangs and Violent Crime on Wednesday.
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi Warns Of Gang Infiltration
Mkhwanazi said South Africa will struggle to defeat gang violence without significant changes to the criminal justice system.
He said authorities need a strategy that targets all gangs, including foreign gangs operating mainly in affluent areas. He also described correctional facilities as “breeding grounds” for gang activity.
“We need to look at the officers that we employ in these law enforcement agencies that we have. Are we employing, are we recruiting gangsters?
“We have generals perhaps that are currently in the police that grew up as members of a gang until they joined the police, and then you trust that the generals are going to come up with a solution, and yet they are members of the gangs themselves.”
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi Questions SAPS Structure
Mkhwanazi also questioned whether a single national police structure is the best way to tackle crime across the country.
He challenged lawmakers to consider decentralising the South African Police Service (SAPS). He said provincial and national authorities could potentially have different responsibilities.
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“I’m challenging us to think about whether it is still necessary to have one entity that is controlled in one central part of the country to be responsible for the safety of the citizens of the republic.”
Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi Calls For Decentralised Policing
The KZN commissioner said the creation of other law enforcement entities could indicate a need for a different policing structure. He suggested that responsibilities could be separated between national and provincial levels.
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The summit also heard calls from crime victims and community organisations for additional resources to combat gang violence, particularly in the Cape Town Metro.
“Perhaps the establishment of all these other entities is an indication that we need to diversify somehow and differentiate between what is done at a national level and what is done at different provincial levels.”
