Nelson Mandela Bay’s policing system has almost collapsed. A Democratic Alliance (DA) inspection found the metro’s Flying Squad, Anti-Gang Unit (AGU), and K9 Unit operating under extreme resource shortages.

DA deputy police spokesperson Ian Cameron described the situation as: “criminal negligence”, saying officers are working without vehicles, safety gear, or proper command support.

Cameron’s statement issued this week reported that the Flying Squad operates with just one response vehicle for 1.2 million residents, while firearm training occurs: “only once every five years”. The AGU, responsible for combating kidnappings and organised crime, has: “close to 100 members but fewer than five operational vehicles”. Officers, he said, work from unsafe offices, have no safe houses, or have not been vetted fully, and must do so on a shoestring budget.

The K9 Unit has just 22 operational members and 13 dogs, with no high-performance vehicles and no groundsman to maintain the kennels. Cameron warned that in a city: “with a severe drug problem, this level of capacity is simply unacceptable.”

In July 2025, Parliament’s Police Portfolio Committee adopted a report following a petition from Eastern Cape DA MPL Yusuf Cassim calling for urgent intervention in the metro. The resolution directed the South African Police Service (SAPS) to rebuild anti-gang and crime-intelligence capacity, restore vehicles, and boost budgets after over 1 000 gang-related murders since 2019, including 39 children.

Former executive mayor Retief Odendaal raised the same alarm in a letter to Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia issued in September, warning that the: “escalating crime wave sweeping across our city” had left residents: “severely impacted”. He said: “organised crime syndicates are sophisticated and well-funded, often operating beyond what the current SAPS infrastructure can handle.” Odendaal urged the minister to establish a 24-hour joint operations centre in Nelson Mandela Bay led by the Hawks, SAPS, Metro Police, and the National Prosecuting Authority, saying: “the safety and security of our city are non-negotiable.”

Warwick Grey, Senior Editor at The Common Sense said that: “despite Parliament’s directive, SAPS and the Minister of Police have failed to act. Parliament can hold hearings and enforce oversight, but operational delivery remains a national SAPS duty.”

Grey further said that the: “metro’s chronic political instability has made matters worse. Since 2019, Nelson Mandela Bay has cycled through six mayors and multiple unstable coalitions, disrupting safety co-ordination and delaying metro police expansion.”

The DA says reform must include devolving some policing powers to provinces and metros, ring-fencing operational budgets, and restoring vehicle fleets.