The past few weeks have been eventful for police minister Bheki Cele and police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola who have been moving from Diepsloot to Kliptown to put out fires fanned by communities who have grown tired of crime.

In Diepsloot, it took violent protests by residents who accused illegal foreigners of being behind a wave of crime in the area to finally get the attention of the police top brass. The community accused the government of allowing Diepsloot to be taken over by criminals with no police visibility or crime-fighting resources at the police station...