The Daily Voice accompanied the Metro Police’s Gang and Drugs Task Team (GDTT) on a sweep of the area, where four schools and a clinic were shut down last week due to gang violence.
The team targeted gang hotspots across Lavender Hill where they explained the Mongrels, Corner Boys and Fast Guns gangs are embroiled in a bloody fight over drug turf.
“Hulle is alweer los vanaand. Soek seker vir die laaities wat so skiet,” said a woman as she came out of her house to watch the cops.
“Ja is reg, skiet hulle, meneer!” she shouted.
Despite several tip-offs about the possible locations of guns throughout the night, the officers came up empty, but did recover tik and mandrax in a neighbouring area.
Shortly after 8pm, the officers received a radio call about shots being fired in Manenberg detected by the Shot Spotter.
Shot Spotter uses sound technology to locate gunshots in a specific area.
Three police vehicles sped from Lavender Hill to Manenberg, with blue lights and sirens as no Shot Spotter alert goes unattended.
Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says each week Metro Police get at least three guns off the streets of Manenberg and Hanover Park, thanks to Shot Spotter.
He says while the City would like to implement Shot Spotter in other gang hotspots like Lavender Hill, Athlone, Elsies River and Delft, funding is a key issue.
“It costs about R3 million per year for Shot Spotter, so at this stage we are looking at sourcing more funding or finding a cheaper service provider.”