Winde unveils violence unit that uses health data from clinics to fight crime

Crime-fighting and prevention in the Western Cape are to receive a boost as the province unveiled a violence prevention plan  to use data from clinics and hospitals to help authorities tailor-make interventions.

On Monday Western Cape premier Alan Winde and three MECs used the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign to give an update on the province's violence prevention unit (VPU) — the first to be provided by a government in South Africa.

With health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo, police oversight and community safety MEC Reagen Allen and social development MEC Sharna Fernande, Winde also launched an area-based team for safety (ABT) in Delft.

The team is an area-specific group of government and NGOs working together to share knowledge and data to address drivers of crime and violence in crime hotspots. The Delft project is an addition to similar initiatives in other crime hotspots in the province, such as Philippi, Mitchells Plain, Atlantis, West Coast and Grabouw.

Winde said the unit, which he announced during his state of the province address a year ago, is aimed at addressing crime proactively and reactively. 

“Unacceptably high levels of crime constitute a serious and complex challenge to our province’s progress,” he said.

“To better understand and confront crime and associated social ills the safety plan is rooted in data and evidence. The VPU is a prime example of one of our interventions which leverages health data to better use healthcare and safety [as] crime-fighting resources. The VPU will help reinforce the safety plan, ensuring its success is reducing violent crime.”

Based on the “Cardiff” model for violence prevention, which relies on strategic use of information such as health and law enforcement to improve policing, the unit will use data from Western Cape health facilities “to identify and design unique interventions to better address violence in communities”. 

In the Cardiff model, data from healthcare, law enforcement, public health agencies and community agencies is used to create effective injury and prevention policy and come up with evidence-based solutions.

Working in 18 ABT areas, the unit has “deployed various co-ordinators to facilitate and enable relationships between government and society”.

As part of this initiative, Winde said, between August and October this year 156 stakeholder engagements had been held between all authorities involved, including the police and the National Prosecuting Authority.

Highlighting the affect of crime on the healthcare system, Mbombo said the system is the frontline of social ills in society. 

“As with poverty, illnesses or effects of strained socioeconomic conditions, crime-related trauma has a significant affect on our facilities which can be seen in our emergency centres.

“By using the vast amounts of data in our department we are able to better understand what is happening in our communities. The addition of the violence prevention unit will greatly assist in our efforts to address the social determinants of health, of which crime plays a huge role,” Mbombo said. 

Allen said having data and evidence has influenced the strategic deployment of the Western Cape's law enforcement advancement plan (Leap) officers in at least 13 of the most violent areas in Cape Town. 

“Delft has a deployment of more than 140 Leap officers. This deployment is based on data, evidence and where the need is greatest, as our aim is to reduce crime in our communities,” said Winde.

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