Two police officers were among the more than 100 people killed in the Western Cape last week.

Police Minister Bheki Cele said during a media briefing on Tuesday that the number included three mass shootings – two in Gugulethu and another in Ravensmead.

Cele and National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola visited the families of the two Cape Town police officers – Warrant Officer Lindela Mraqisa and Constable Asavela Mathe – on Monday.

Mathe was killed in Mfuleni on Sunday morning while visiting friends.

Mraqisa was among five people killed in a mass shooting in Gugulethu on Saturday evening. He was one of Deputy Police Minister Cassel Mathale's bodyguards.

Another shooting took place in Gugulethu on 25 September, which resulted in five deaths. Gunmen opened fire on victims who were sitting inside two vehicles.

On the same day, three men were shot and killed while walking in Ravensmead.

Cele described the shootings as "ruthless". 

He, however, said police in the Western Cape were making inroads into fighting crime through Operation Shanela.

He added that more than 970 people have been arrested in connection with murder since April, and more than 940 had been arrested in connection with attempted murder.

"While police are making inroads in the fight against crime in this province, it is deeply disturbing and unacceptable that more than 100 people were killed in the Western Cape alone in a week.

"As we sharpen our responses to crime, thugs are becoming more brazen and trying to unleash fear and terrorism in communities such as Gugulethu, Manenburg and Ravensmead, where we have seen shootings resulting in multiple deaths," he said.

Cele said one person has been arrested in connection with the Gugulethu shootings, while another 10 people had been identified as alleged perpetrators.

"Arrests cannot be a luxury or a nice-to-have. Whatever the motive for these shootings and murders is, decisive police action and robust community involvement is urgently needed if we are to put an end to this," he said.

On a more positive note, Cele said that kidnapping, which has been highlighted as a crime of concern in the Cape Town area, had been "dealt a blow through policing interventions".

"From April to date, there have been 13 incidents of kidnapping for ransom ... Seven of the cases have been solved through the arrest of 28 suspects. Three vehicles have been recovered while two people were convicted to life behind bars for kidnapping," he said.