Some community policing forum (CPF) members and residents on the Cape Flats remain sceptical after the City of Cape Town said it would spend about R860-million over three years on tech-led equipment to curb violent crimes.

The City announced it would combine gunshot detection technology and drones to pinpoint gun violence, violent flare-ups and rapidly deploy policing resources to crime-ridden areas on the Cape Flats. 

The City said the installations would be in consultation with the South African Police Service (SAPS).

Acoustic gunshot detection systems went live in Hanover Park in December, in Manenberg in February, and Lavender Hill in March.

JP Smith, the mayoral committee member for safety and security, said this technology would be rolled out to more areas within Cape Town. 

"The City is investing around R860-million over the next three years in technology to make Cape Town safer: From CCTV to drones, dashcams, aerial surveillance, acoustic gunshot detection, and the master digital system to coordinate it all in real-time," Smith said in a statement.

He said for "operational purposes", the City would not divulge any information about the sensors' locations. 

According to Smith, implementing new and improved technology stemmed from a "successful" pilot programme in Hanover Park and Manenberg more than three years ago, which saw a "significant reduction" of crime. 

Gunshot detection technology - formerly known as ShotSpotter and now known as SoundThinking, identifies the sound of gunfire, allowing law enforcement authorities to pinpoint territorial battles erupting between rival gangs immediately.

"Previously, violence flare-ups would only become known to SAPS once the body count began rising. However, now the City [can] gain strategic information in realtime to share with police, enabling authorities to concentrate resources into stabilising an area [much] faster," Smith said.

Besides alerts to specific gunfire incidents, the City said the data enabled more strategic deployment of policing resources by identifying hotspots.

"Gunshots can be pinpointed by street, block, and time of day, generating heat maps and measurable data on gun violence trends over time," Smith added. 

Acoustic gunshot detection is part of the City’s vision for tech-led policing to make Cape Town safer.

"By deploying gunshot detection and drones to gang hotspots, we aim to see rapid, tech-led deployment of police to gun violence flare-ups. Tech-led policing provides a crucial strategic advantage as we add more boots on the ground," Smith added.

According to the City, over time, it will be phasing in aerial surveillance - including drones - as an additional "eye in the sky" security measure.

However, Hanover Park CPF chair Kashiefa Mohammed said even though the city claimed to have installed all this new technology in the area, crime had increased drastically since December. 

Mohammed said killings continued unabated with a 33-year-old man being shot dead in Surburg Walk on Saturday, while a 23-year-old man was shot and wounded, in what was also believed to be gang-related violence.

Western Cape police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed the shooting, saying when police attended to the crime scene they were told that the victims were taken to a medical facility in a private vehicle. 

"The 33-year-old man was declared deceased. Both victims sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and head. The suspects fled the scene on foot and are yet to be arrested," Twigg said.

Mohammed said the new technology would not resolve the crime pandemic on the Cape Flats:

"Where are these drones the City speaks of when children are being murdered in broad daylight? Where are the ShotSpotters when gunshots are ringing out at 02:00 in the morning? Where are the drones when parents are running down the stairs of their flats to collect their loved one's body ... who was caught in crossfire?

The City is wasting its time and new technology because nothing is being done to curb crime," Mohammed stressed.

Manenberg was also feeling the pressure of gang violence.

Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie said: "We are aware of sporadic incidents of gunfire in the Manenberg policing precinct of which some have led to the recent murders of alleged gang members of different groupings. The area's police station commander has increased police visibility in the area with the strategic deployment of integrated forces, comprising various police units." 

Manenberg CPF chair Vernon Visagie said the City did not include the CPF in their plans when they rolled out the drones and new technologies.

"There was no participation from the CPF. In fact, we didn't even know this was already placed in the area until the media informed us about it. If there is no public participation and we are not aware of what the City is doing, then it becomes yet another unsuccessful attempt at reducing crime," Visagie said. 

Lavender Hill CPF chair Gavin Walbrugh said he hoped the new technology would assist with crime. 

"We definitely welcome this initiative by the City, and we hope it will work.

"We don't want to be negative about this, but some of these technologies have been used in other parts of the Cape Flats areas, but yet we are still seeing dead bodies every week and increases in gang violence," said Walbrugh. 

Some Cape Flats residents mocked the new tech-driven interventions, with one saying, "It's a bloody joke, to be honest."

"It won't stop the crime," said resident Lucinda Damons.

"In fact, it will make these gangsters and criminals more determined to outsmart the law enforcement agencies. I mean, how many dead bodies have been picked up already since December in Hanover Park? Those gangsters are still walking our streets."  

Another resident, Benny Arnold, said the money the City was investing should rather be pumped into the policing forums across the province. 

"Those millions should be invested in the CPFs because they are the backbone of the communities and know what needs to be done to curb this crime.

"What will stop these gangsters from trying to damage the technologies? Did the City even think of that? I'm sure not long from now, these criminals will destroy all the equipment being brought in to stop their criminal activity," he said.

Smith responded to Arnold's concerns.

"This consideration has been factored into our planning and is one of the reasons why the locations of the sensors are not made public," he said.

Lavender Hill residents Bronwyn Jansen and Richard Samuels said they welcomed the City trying new things.

"Any initiative to stop the gang violence and killings is welcomed. If the City thinks this will work then good on them, it will be great if they can release the stats to the CPF members of how many people actually will be arrested with this in place so that we as residents can also see if it's working or not because this is a hell of a lot of money they are investing," Jansen said. 

Samuels said he was keen to see how the drones would perform.

"Drones have been proven to be really reliable in getting the job done. Whether it will get the job done on the Cape Flats remains to be seen. But it's a welcomed initiative," he said.