South Africa needs intelligence and targeted investigations to understand, counter and dismantle the networks involved in bringing in illegal firearms. That’s the advice of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime’s (GI-TOC), Julian Rademeyer.
He suggests that government’s response to organised crime has not been effective, citing Operation Prosper. He was speaking after this weekend’s three mass shootings in Cape Town and Gauteng. A total of 32 people were killed and about 30 others wounded. He says these attacks don’t happen in isolation, and there is often a build-up of tension over a period of time. At a tavern in Wedela on the West Rand, 18 people were killed when eight gunmen carrying AK-47 rifles and pistols opened fire at patrons.
“Our response to organized crime has invariably been to sort of flood an area with the police or more recently with the military and not really looking at those targeted investigations. So hundreds, thousands of people get swept up as we’ve seen with the arrests of illegal miners,” said Rademeyer.
He added that this is flooding the courts and overloading police who are already overloaded. Rademeyer notes that there is no clear strategic approach that seems to be taken, stressing that a lot more needs to be done.
