CAPE FLATS, Western Cape — Local Community Policing Forum (CPF) volunteers say they were unexpectedly excluded from a strategic briefing with Deputy President Paul Mashatile at the Lentegeur police station, warning that the absence of grassroots voices risks distorting the official assessment of crime in the area.
Deputy President Mashatile visited the station to convene senior commanders from the South African Police Service, the South African National Defence Force, and Correctional Services in connection with Operation Prosper, the ongoing joint deployment aimed at curbing violent crime. While CPF members from Mitchells Plain and surrounding neighborhoods say they received invitations the night before, they were denied entry on the day of the meeting.
A CPF representative from Sector One in Mitchells Plain described the reversal as a breach of trust. “We have been invited to be part of this and we’re very much excited about it because we are going to be talking directly to the highest office in the land,” the representative said. “Our frustration is that we have just been told from inside that we should not go in because this is a high-level kind of a meeting. We are not supposed to be here—it’s Brigadiers who must be in here.”
The spokesperson recounted being questioned about credentials by a senior officer identified as Brigadier or General Portella, despite CPF volunteers routinely serving as first responders in high-crime zones. “We are the first people to be called upon when something happens… at ordinary hours, extraordinary hours—10, 9, 11 at night—and now today we are told to get out of the meeting. We are not happy about it.”
Concerns were also raised about operational challenges within the police service, including perceived officer complacency, barriers to filing complaints, and the reassignment of seasoned detectives. “They complain about our being under-resourced,” the representative noted, adding that replacing experienced investigators with new constables creates a multi-year capability gap, as training to equivalent proficiency can take six to seven years.
A CPF chairperson from the Lentegeur and Mitchells Plain area described the exclusion as deeply demoralizing. “We thought when we received the invite late last night that we would have an opportunity to engage with the Deputy President on the issue of crime that is dear to us because we are volunteers and we want to work with the police, work with government,” the chairperson stated. “What we experienced today… I’m not welcome in my own home. If that is government’s response to us as a community, as volunteers, then we need to review our relationship with government, with the police, and other stakeholders.”
The chairperson stressed that the visible military presence has not halted violent crime. “Two weeks ago we had a double murder in Montrose Park, one of our hotspot areas,” they said. They highlighted community-driven safety efforts coordinated through the Mitchells Plain Safety and Development Forum, which has designated six priority zones for targeted intervention: Montrose Park, Beacon Valley, Hyde Park, Tafelsig, Rocklands, and Strandfontein. Among the proposed initiatives are holiday programs for children aged 5 to 14, designed to provide safe, structured environments for youth during school breaks and reduce exposure to gang recruitment.
Both community spokespersons cautioned that official crime statistics—such as figures cited for Elsies River and Hanover Park between 2021 and 2025—may not accurately reflect ground realities without direct input from local volunteers. “The engagement will never be a true reflection with the exclusion of the communities,” one representative asserted. “It will never be an authentic picture because they’ll be talking under assumptions.”
The incident has renewed calls for more inclusive engagement between state security structures and community-based crime prevention partners in the Cape Flats, where persistent gang activity and resource limitations continue to strain public safety efforts.