CAPE TOWN, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- With the highest murder rate in South Africa, the Western Cape province on Thursday unveiled a comprehensive plan to halve the provincial murder rate in 10 years.
"I have no illusions as to how difficult and seemingly impossible this is - but our very future hinges on making this province safe for all of us," Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said while unveiling the plan.
Under this "most comprehensive and expensive" safety plan in the history of the Western Cape, 3,000 new law enforcement officers will be deployed on data-led technology where and when crime happens, Winde said.
These officers will have the mandate to operate province wide, under the command and control of the Western Cape government, according to Winde.
Meanwhile, 150 investigators will be positioned to prepare dockets for prosecution, he said.
A world-class, evidence-led and integrated violence prevention program will be launched, Winde said.
The plan also envisages a safety priority for every provincial cabinet minister with accountable, transparent metrics.
Winde said he will build a safety cabinet where the ministers, the South African Police Service (SAPS) and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system will be held accountable to delivery metrics "which I will, in turn, communicate directly to the public."
He accused the SAPS of not doing enough to keeping communities safe.
At the request of the Western Cape government, the South African National Defence Force has deployed troops in 10 gang-infested areas in the Western Cape to help police contain spiralling gang violence.
"This provincial government refuses to sit back and allow our residents to continue to live in fear," Winde said.
For the period from April 2018 to March 2019, the SAPS recorded 21,022 murders in the country, up 3.4 percent from the year before.
The Western Cape accounts for over a third of the most murderous areas. When looking at the top 30 worst precincts for murder, 11 precincts being found in the Western Cape, eight in Gauteng and six in KwaZulu Natal, the SAPS said.
Violent crime and murder in particular is concentrated in a few, specific neighborhoods, with almost half of all murders occurring in areas covered by just 10 police stations, according to Winde.
