MICHAEL SUN: Gauteng needs a balanced approach to fighting crime

In his recent state of the province address, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi announced the redeployment of metro police resources to “fight crime”, which reflects a sense of urgency but risks repeating the same reactive mistakes that have failed to sustainably curb criminality in Gauteng.

While the intent to act decisively is commendable, the proposed approach lacks the nuance required for long-term success. I urge a shift from short-term theatrics to evidence-based, collaborative strategies that address systemic weaknesses in our law enforcement and criminal justice ecosystem. 

Criminals and crimes move and cannot be defeated through sporadic crackdowns that prioritise visibility over effectiveness. The “gang fight” metaphor risks normalising brute force over smart policing. Research globally shows that sustainable crime reduction hinges on intelligence-led policing, using data to identify hotspots, syndicates and repeat offenders.

For example, New York City’s CompStat model combines real-time crime mapping with accountability for precinct commanders, reducing violent crime by more than 70% since the 1990s. Gauteng must invest in predictive analytics, AI-enhanced technology, forensic capacity and specialised units targeting organised crime networks, rather than scattering resources in reactionary raids. 

Metro police departments are municipally mandated to enforce bylaws, manage traffic and prevent crime, functions critical to maintaining order in our cities. Diverting these officers beyond their jurisdictions risks collapsing basic municipal services, from illegal dumping enforcement to motor vehicle accident response. Moreover, their legal authority outside municipal boundaries is unclear, creating operational and accountability gaps. Local government experts and union leaders were sceptical of the provincial government’s law enforcement plans, saying they “did not make a lot of sense”. 

Pulling police officers from one strained municipality to another is a zero-sum game. Areas losing resources will see spikes in unreported bylaw violations, traffic chaos and petty crime, further eroding public trust. Already, Gauteng’s police-to-population ratio lags behind international standards, with the SA Police Service (SAPS) reporting one officer per 400 residents. Depleting metro capacities without a proportional boost to provincial or national resources will deepen disparities, leaving all communities vulnerable. 

To truly combat crime, The DA would implement the following: 

• Devolve SAPS powers to provinces so they can control their own budget and allocate resources according to needs because the current national policing model is failing Gauteng residents in fighting crime;
• Regroup and integrate SAPS resources, and bolster and establish specialised units with shared intelligence systems;
• Intensify provincial governance oversight and support on municipal bylaw enforcement;
• Immediate deployment of Gauteng Traffic Police to ease highly congested areas in the province during peak hours;
• Joint and sustainable operations by traffic police and metro police to curb lawlessness of taxis in the province;
• Leverage public-private partnerships: partner with security role players and actors to patrol hot zones and maximise all resources available; and
• Fix the criminal justice pipeline: more than 80% of SAPS arrests never lead to convictions due to poor evidence collection, court backlogs and corruption. Specialised courts for gender-based violence (GBV) and organised crime, digitised docket systems and anti-corruption programmes are non-negotiable. 

Gauteng needs a permanent crime reduction strategy, not a pendulum of resource shifts. Let us redirect energies towards modernising the SAPS, formalising partnerships, and holding the justice system accountable. The public deserves more than performative policing — they deserve a plan that outsmarts crime, not just mirrors its chaos. 

• Sun is a DA MPL and Gauteng spokesperson for community safety.