Are the cops winning?

But those living in certain Joburg hotspots disagree.

- Thando Nondywana

Here are mixed views on whether the police are winning the fight against gangsters in Johannesburg, after the provincial police commissioner says crime levels had decreased in six out of eight areas with gangs.

On Thursday, police said they had seen a drop in crime levels in the past six months in Westbury, Eldorado Park, Sophiatown, Noordgesig, Booysens, Langlaagte and Riverlea.

"We have noticed that with regards to the gang-affected areas, six out of eight have managed to decrease their crime levels," Gauteng police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni said.

"It was only Mohlakeng and Reiger Park which recorded a slight increase."

Saturday Citizen visited the areas yesterday to speak to residents. Some disagreed with Mthombeni, while others said they had seen a positive change.

Dorothy Audrey van Wyk, whose daughter Leyolan van Wyk and son MacAllister van Wyk were gunned down in August 2023 and in 2020, respectively, expressed her frustration, saying despite police deployments, crime levels remained high in Westbury.