Team tackling wave of extortion in Cape Town to meet weekly

The committee formed to tackle organised crime and extortion in Cape Town held its first meeting on Friday after criticism from the city council and the Western Cape government about the delay in convening it.

Premier Alan Winde and community safety MEC Albert Fritz said the committee would meet weekly and the SA Police Service had allocated resources to investigations in areas such as Khayelitsha and Gugulethu, where extortion may be linked to mass shootings.

"[The SAPS] have established a multisectoral committee to focus on these issues, led by Maj-Gen Andre Lincoln,” said a statement issued by Winde and Fritz.

“They have also allocated 16 police officers to the investigation of organised crime matters. Additionally, the National Prosecuting Authority has indicated that they are consolidating cases for future prosecution.”

The statement said Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Yolisa Matakata briefed a provincial cabinet meeting this week that focused on safety.

Johan Brand, who recently resigned as the Western Cape police ombudsman, had been appointed to manage implementation of the provincial government safety plan.

Fritz said he and health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo would lead a new information-sharing project aimed at painting a complete picture of violence in the province.

The project will use the Cardiff Violence Prevention Model, developed at a university in Wales, which provides guidance on combining and mapping hospital and police data on violence.

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