Why deploying army to fight gangs is doomed to fail

On February 24, I wrote a critique of the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to crime-ridden communities across the country, arguing that it was a short-term solution to a complex systemic problem.

Some readers agreed with the submission while others vehemently disagreed.

This past Sunday, the essence of my argument was echoed by an article titled “Gangs lure kids into crime with fast food and sneakers” published by the Sunday Times and republished by The Herald.

The article highlights how children as young as 10 are being forced to join violent gangs in the Cape Flats and being lured with fast food and sneakers.

The same pattern is noted in parts of Gauteng such as Eldorado Park, where 14-year-old children are increasingly being drawn into gangsterism as a means to support their struggling families.

Mitchells Plain Safety and Development Forum chair Abie Isaacs contends that many families in the Cape Flats are forced to choose between buying bread and electricity while nearby gang members live visibly lavish lifestyles.

This, he argues, makes recruitment much easier for gangs.

Community activist Tyrone Parks said poverty and economic exclusion created conditions for gangs to position themselves as providers.

He said in homes where caregivers were absent or overwhelmed, gangs offered money, food and relief.

The article echoes findings from various studies on gangsterism in SA — that it is linked to socio-economic challenges.

The situation is not unique to our country.

In Europe, gangsterism is most prominent in neglected areas with declining or non-existent industries, leading to high levels of unemployment and poverty.

These are often areas where immigrants are housed, creating the much-misunderstood link between growing immigration and increasing crime levels.

The same pattern can be gleaned in the US, where gangsterism occurs in low-income neighbourhoods that have been systematically excluded from the economy.

The key takeaway from the Sunday Times article and data on gangsterism is that it is a problem rooted in systemic economic and socio-economic challenges.

In areas with high unemployment, gang involvement acts as a violent survival strategy, offering financial gains from illicit activities such as drug trafficking and extortion.

Linked to this, poverty often causes family breakdown, increasing the likelihood of youths joining gangs.

Gangs then operate as surrogate families for youths from disadvantaged backgrounds, offering prestige, protection and a sense of power.

In addition, poor education and lack of jobs act as push factors which make gangs an attractive alternative to poverty.

This fact is reiterated in the article, which highlights that most children joining gangs in Eldorado Park are not in employment, education or training, known as NEETs.

When we understand gangsterism as a product and function of economic neglect, it becomes clear why the strategy of deploying the army to fight gangs has not worked since it was first tried in the 1990s, and why it is not going to work this time around.

The government is fighting a structural issue using military force.

But the reality is that no amount of force addresses the root of the issue — the economic deprivation that sends children into gangs.

Furthermore, the army will eventually leave the communities to which it has been deployed.

Once the R800m budget for the operation is depleted, the army will be recalled, as it has been in six previous deployments.

The picture of what happens afterwards has been painted many times — crime levels increase, violence intensifies and more children are recruited into gangs to continue the extortion and trade in illicit goods that gives gangs the power and resources that enable their reign over communities.

And ultimately, the 10-year-olds who are lured in with takeaways and sneakers are the collateral damage.