Keltria
02-05-2005, 02:39 PM
I must admit that for once i agree with the courts - this is a good idea - i just hope it works
Courts poised to wipe out gangsterism
Ashley Smith
February 05 2005 at 02:28PM
Landmark court judgments have opened the door for gangs to be declared illegal, enabling people to be convicted simply for being members of gangs.
Gangsters across South Africa will face sentences of up to eight years for being gang members, or for recruiting others to join gangs.
Recruiting or operating a gang on school premises will carry the heaviest sentences.
Gangs - which run the illegal drug, liquor and sex trades and commit crimes like murder, rape and robbery with impunity - have held large areas of the Western Cape in the grip of fear for decades. But, in the past, gangs themselves were not illegal and belonging to them was not a crime.
Weekend Argus can now disclose that law-enforcement authorities in the Western Cape have used the notorious ganglands in the province to "test drive" the country's new Prevention of Organised Crime Act .
The pilot project, to be extended soon to the rest of the country, has already secured three landmark convictions. In these cases, suspects charged under the act were convicted of being members of gangs.
The convictions mean that being a member of the 26s gang, the Corner Boys or the Mongrels is now illegal.
Section 9 (1) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act makes being a member of a gang illegal and carries a fine or six years' imprisonment.
If you are a member of a gang on school or other educational premises you can be imprisoned for up to eight years.
Once a member of a gang has appeared in court and been found guilty of belonging to the gang, as specified in terms of the act, membership of that gang is thereafter a criminal offence.
These precedent-setting cases have shown the way for law enforcement officials elsewhere in the country.
There are a further 47 cases before the courts in the Western Cape which could result in the following gangs being declared illegal: the Bokkies, the Americans, the Cat Pound, the Boston Kids, the Rich Kids, the Cisko Yakkies, the 28s prison gang and the Dixie Boys.
In cases of prison gangs, convicts can also be charged for continuing their gang activities in prison and their sentences can be increased.
Provincial safety and security ministers in the rest of the country have already been briefed about the best way to implement the legislation.
National Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula is poised to drive the campaign to round-up and prosecute gangsters.
Although the act has been on the statute books for a few years, no gangster had been convicted in terms of the act until now. Gang membership is also regarded as an aggravating factor when sentence is passed for other crimes.
The act is seen as one of the powerful new instruments to combat gangsterism effectively.
Another is the national programme to arrest the country's top 200 criminals, as outlined by President Thabo Mbeki last year.
People are encouraged to report gang members to the authorities, who will then draw up dossiers including pictures and other evidence of distinctive character traits displayed by gangsters.
Western Cape community safety minister Leonard Ramatlakane confirmed this week that his counterparts in the other eight provinces had been briefed about an impact analysis of the pilot project and given enforcement guidelines.
In December the Western Cape became the first province to secure a conviction in terms of the legislation, when Corner Boys and 26s gang member Shahied Julies was sentenced to six years in jail by the Wynberg Regional Court.
In sentencing, Magistrate AP Kotze said: "Our country, particularly here in Cape Town, is ravaged by gang activity and these gang members are unscrupulous people who do not care for the rights of other people, (they are) actually a bunch of cowards, all of them. Intimidating people, demarcating areas for themselves, making it impossible for law-abiding people to make a living in some of those areas, to live there in peace."
Later in December Mustafa Booysen and Gregory Vlotman, members of the 26s and the Mongrels, were also convicted in terms of the act.
Courts poised to wipe out gangsterism
Ashley Smith
February 05 2005 at 02:28PM
Landmark court judgments have opened the door for gangs to be declared illegal, enabling people to be convicted simply for being members of gangs.
Gangsters across South Africa will face sentences of up to eight years for being gang members, or for recruiting others to join gangs.
Recruiting or operating a gang on school premises will carry the heaviest sentences.
Gangs - which run the illegal drug, liquor and sex trades and commit crimes like murder, rape and robbery with impunity - have held large areas of the Western Cape in the grip of fear for decades. But, in the past, gangs themselves were not illegal and belonging to them was not a crime.
Weekend Argus can now disclose that law-enforcement authorities in the Western Cape have used the notorious ganglands in the province to "test drive" the country's new Prevention of Organised Crime Act .
The pilot project, to be extended soon to the rest of the country, has already secured three landmark convictions. In these cases, suspects charged under the act were convicted of being members of gangs.
The convictions mean that being a member of the 26s gang, the Corner Boys or the Mongrels is now illegal.
Section 9 (1) of the Prevention of Organised Crime Act makes being a member of a gang illegal and carries a fine or six years' imprisonment.
If you are a member of a gang on school or other educational premises you can be imprisoned for up to eight years.
Once a member of a gang has appeared in court and been found guilty of belonging to the gang, as specified in terms of the act, membership of that gang is thereafter a criminal offence.
These precedent-setting cases have shown the way for law enforcement officials elsewhere in the country.
There are a further 47 cases before the courts in the Western Cape which could result in the following gangs being declared illegal: the Bokkies, the Americans, the Cat Pound, the Boston Kids, the Rich Kids, the Cisko Yakkies, the 28s prison gang and the Dixie Boys.
In cases of prison gangs, convicts can also be charged for continuing their gang activities in prison and their sentences can be increased.
Provincial safety and security ministers in the rest of the country have already been briefed about the best way to implement the legislation.
National Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula is poised to drive the campaign to round-up and prosecute gangsters.
Although the act has been on the statute books for a few years, no gangster had been convicted in terms of the act until now. Gang membership is also regarded as an aggravating factor when sentence is passed for other crimes.
The act is seen as one of the powerful new instruments to combat gangsterism effectively.
Another is the national programme to arrest the country's top 200 criminals, as outlined by President Thabo Mbeki last year.
People are encouraged to report gang members to the authorities, who will then draw up dossiers including pictures and other evidence of distinctive character traits displayed by gangsters.
Western Cape community safety minister Leonard Ramatlakane confirmed this week that his counterparts in the other eight provinces had been briefed about an impact analysis of the pilot project and given enforcement guidelines.
In December the Western Cape became the first province to secure a conviction in terms of the legislation, when Corner Boys and 26s gang member Shahied Julies was sentenced to six years in jail by the Wynberg Regional Court.
In sentencing, Magistrate AP Kotze said: "Our country, particularly here in Cape Town, is ravaged by gang activity and these gang members are unscrupulous people who do not care for the rights of other people, (they are) actually a bunch of cowards, all of them. Intimidating people, demarcating areas for themselves, making it impossible for law-abiding people to make a living in some of those areas, to live there in peace."
Later in December Mustafa Booysen and Gregory Vlotman, members of the 26s and the Mongrels, were also convicted in terms of the act.