The South African Police Service has confirmed that about 1,577 known drug houses have been identified in the province roughly the same number of schools in the Western Cape.
However, a parliamentary question revealed that by mid-2021, 47% of the known drug houses are found in the rural areas of the Western Cape which equates to a total of 741 premises. This is a stark contrast to the 53% of such premises identified in the Metro which is understood to be a lucrative environment for drug-related crimes due to population density.
According to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) spokesperson on Community Safety in the Western Cape, Reagen Allen, the latest crime statics showed that an increase in efforts led to a 137% rise in crime detected as a result of police action.
” This is especially notable when it comes to the confiscation of illegal firearms or the detection of drug-related crimes. However, clamping down on these illegalities is highly dependent on ongoing intelligence-driven operations from the police service, as even just one drug house is one too many,” Allen indicated.
Allen said further that he will write to the Provincial Police Commissioner to enquire about what measures the SAPS is undertaking to prevent and clamp down on the sprawling of known drug houses to rural areas in particular.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Minister for Community Safety, Albert Fritz have also submitted to the national police Bheki Cele the Western Cape policing needs and prioritising.
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