By Kouthar Sambo

Speaking on Voice of the Cape’s (VOC) breakfast show on Monday morning, Criminologist Dr. Simon Howell cited some of the latest crimes committed in the Western Cape over the weekend.

“The Strandfontein businessman who was shot at Lansdowne, four people were shot in Manenberg along with the two people wounded in Manenberg, two shot in Mitchells Plain, and three bodies were discovered in Macassar in one week,” cited Howell.

“More people are choosing crimes over school. That begs the question as to why drugs have become so powerful. The Department of Education and the Department of Social Development must intervene and engage with young to dissuade them from choosing a life of crime over school,” he added.

On a more positive note, explains Howell, the City of Cape Town has launched a new law enforcement unit, which is known as the City’s Facility Protection Officers (FPO). This came after the significant levels of deterioration in certain facilities, calling for the need for the protection and safekeeping of the City’s facilities.

“According to the South African Police Service (SAPS), there are more drug houses in the Western Cape now than there are schools,” reiterates Howell, who went on to say that SAPS has identified 1,819 known drug houses in the Western Cape. “Cape Town facilities are being undermined to such an extent that they’ve had to create their own law enforcement units to protect them. That speaks to vandalism and copper theft,” he said.

A huge shocker is the fact that Macassar has become a hotspot for the disposal of bodies. This came after Councillor Peter Helfrich said that the prolonged power cuts in the area have lured criminals to take advantage of the situation by using the ward as a hotspot for dumping bodies.

Howell however, added that it is easier to commit crime and dispose of bodies in areas with extended power cuts since crimes are harder to spot when it is done in total darkness.

Photo: VOCfm