In Western Cape, about 800 children are in conflict with the law and are filling up the provincial Department of Social Development’s youth & childcare centres, with the department saying the numbers were increasing. The department funds 49 NPO-run child and youth care centres and has nine of its own. According to it, 624 children were placed in its own-run centres under the Children's Act and 806 under the Child Justice Act during the 2023/24 financial year. Lerato Mbele was joined by Claire Taylor, reseracher at Gun Free SA and Willem Els, senior coordinator at the Institute for Security Studies.