Ostensibly driven by claims of high levels of police inefficiency and a general breakdown in relations between community members and SAPS, the O'Regan Commission of Inquiry finally took off in crime-ridden Khayelitsha last week.
The first four days of public hearings brought to light a combination of anguished allegations of poor policing, an attempted defence of police work in underdeveloped informal settlements, fear-tinged accounts of vigilante justice and - despite a perceived loss of trust in policing - a sense of certain residents' dogged determination to enforce accountability as it pertains to their safety and security.
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