Cape Town - Table View on the West Coast, once described as an upmarket suburb, along with neighbouring middle class Milnerton, has descended into a quagmire of crime, with residents at their wits’ end.
As the suburbs are encroached by high-density developments and informal settlements, the areas have become the top police precincts for crime.
This week, the Community Police Forum, together with the station commander Colonel Tjikamba Markus Mbangu, met with anxious residents as crime continued to spiral out of control, calling for more resources from police, City and Law Enforcement.
The meeting followed a litany of crimes in a short period, which include a murder and attempted murder during a home invasion, the death of a female nurse, a woman stabbed 20 times by robbers, a romance scam ring leader being nabbed and a string of robberies.
Table View resident Philippe Roche said he had contacted the City, Law Enforcement and the offices of Mayco member for community safety, JP Smith, to bring calm to the streets.
“We need urgent support and assistance as the situation is growing out of control,” Roche wrote to City officials.
“The events coincide 100% with the growth in numbers of the criminals on street corners claiming to be job-seekers.
“We have had an exponential rise in attempted or successful house invasions, robberies and attempted murder in Table View in the last few weeks,” he said.
Karen Davis, chairperson of the Greater Table View Action Forum, said they were calling for more police visibility. “Over the last two weeks, there seems to have been a huge escalation in crime in our suburb.
“There was a housebreaking in Parklands that resulted in a woman’s death which apparently has led back to her domestic worker, and the suspects have been arrested. But from then on, there have been almost daily house break-ins, wall jumpers, etc.”
Former Table View ward councillor Joy Solomon confirmed she had resigned as of March 31, but had previously indicated the region had seen an increase in crime and called on “so-called job-seekers” to be watched as they could be potentially linked to crimes such as robberies.
“We suspect they could be observers, and this has been raised with the CPF,” Solomon said.
“There have been smash-and-grab incidents and people’s cellphones being taken.”
Phindile Maxiti, PR councillor for the ward, said they were engaging with stakeholders and residents to ensure that residents’ concerns were escalated.
”I am meeting with the portfolio committee and we have received complaints, and at our subcouncil meeting on Thursday, we agreed to go out with the relevant departments to show them the challenges and call for immediate interventions.
“I requested the hot spots in the community WhatsApp, and that was provided this week and we are now planning a site inspection with departments.”
According to a Parliament of the Province Report, Table View police station had 150 police officers on their system as of November 2023, 40 vehicles, a -14.8% vacancy and 34 detectives.
Captain Adriana Chandler, communications officer at the police station, took to social media to inform residents of successes they had in recent weeks and months, and warned the public to be vigilant.
Chandler said four suspects had been arrested last month in connection with the murder of a 54-year-old woman in her home in Langley Crescent, Parklands.
She explained that the suspects were traced to Witsand in Atlantis and were aged 22 and 44. They were facing charges of murder and robbery after the victim’s vehicle and personal items were stolen and retrieved.
In a separate incident in Cabernet Road, Table View on April 14, just after 8.30pm, a family were watching television when four armed men entered, tied them up and began ransacking the premises, stealing bank cards, jewellery and cellphones.
A neighbour heard the commotion and cornered a suspect in his garden. A struggle ensued and he was detained and arrested.
In a brazen attack, a woman was stabbed 24 times along Gie and Circle roads in Table View just after 7am on March 18 by two robbers who were caught on video. She survived.
Resident Toni Buys, a clerk of Ward 107, was awarded a certificate of recognition from the CPF in Table View for her life-saving actions after a resident was shot during a home robbery.
Chandler said Buys, who is also a community medic volunteer, was just around the corner when a resident was shot in a home robbery.
“She was first on scene and was able to slow the bleeding until Community Medics arrived and stabilised the victim.”
“The EMS confirmed to the CPF that without Ms Buys' swift action, another life would have been lost. This recognition of Ms Buys’ willingness to go above and beyond in service to our community is richly deserved.”
Police also arrested a Nigerian national for being part of a romance scam of a Canadian citizen, swindling her out of R24 million in an apparent investment hoax.
Police spokesperson, Captain Frederick van Wyk, confirmed that residents had met with top officials on Thursday night.
“Kindly be advised that the mentioned station commander held a Community Imbizo in Table View with all role-players. The purpose of the Imbizo was to strengthen the relationship between the community and SAPS members.
The community members were encouraged to report criminal activities.The police will continue with stop and search, vehicle check points (VCP), identify drug outlets and awareness campaigns etc.”
Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for City Law Enforcement, said they were made aware of the public’s concerns about loiterers being potential criminals.
“Law Enforcement is aware of the job-seeker hot spots in the area and attend to by-law complaints related to them. The City’s enforcement agencies act in support of the SAPS, as they are the primary agency tasked with crime prevention.
“City services conduct as many patrols and respond to as many incidents as resources allow. However, due to the many demands on the services, it is not always possible to maintain a static presence in any one particular area.”