Plans to deploy members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in the Western Cape seem to be taking shape, with the SAPS plans intended for full implementation in April.
A presentation on the planned deployment was discussed during a joint meeting between the Portfolio Committees on Police and Mineral & Petroleum Resources on Wednesday.
Major General Mark Henkel said joint mission readiness training is being conducted between the SAPS and the SANDF to prepare members for operations in specific environments. The training is on communication protocols and SAPS use-of-force guidelines, including escalation procedures.
Henkel explained that SAPS members will work within SANDF units for coordination and understanding of legal powers and procedures.
He further stressed that soldiers will always operate alongside police officers, with SAPS leading operations at crime scenes, regardless of rank.
Operational coordination will be carried out through joint structures, including the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS), at national, provincial and local levels.
“These operational objectives that we strive to achieve will be crime reduction in the designated action areas, the arrest of offenders, the recovery of illicit firearms, ammunition and explosives and also the confiscation of ‘tools of trade’ and illicit narcotics,” Henkel said.
National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said the operation will coincide with the introduction of a new organised crime policing model.
“We will start pilot this month of March for the organised crime implementation model both in Gauteng and Western Cape. But we’ll go full scale implementation of the organised crime model from 1 of April,” Masemola said.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia cautioned that the deployment is intended as a temporary measure rather than a permanent solution.
“The deployment of the SANDF is not being presented as a panacea, as a magic bullet… the deployment of the army as a stabilisation strategy,” Cachalia said.
The planned deployment is scheduled to run from 1 March until 31 March 2027 and forms part of broader efforts to tackle gang violence, illegal mining and organised crime across the country.
