The MEC for community safety has attributed the spate of crime in Alexandra to the lack of police visibility.
MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane said crime would continue to soar if the police were not visible in public and added that this would also increase perception of a state incapable of protecting citizens and property. This, compared to the private security sector, which she stated operated on similar resources but was more visible and had a better response time to reported crimes.
Malobane said this at the Alexandra Police Cluster Forum at the Eastbank Hall where she asked the community to contribute to the provincial and national safety strategy and plan.
She said the lack of police visibility in Alexandra was caused by the station management failing to operate sector policing, resulting in police vehicles being grounded and the lack of collaboration with the local police forum. “Sector policing is a key performance area to ensure police visibility and restore the public’s confidence in the police,” she stressed. Its demise she said made crime soar especially against women and children like domestic abuse and violence, sexual molestation and rape and also sodomy on boys and youths. In its absence, the community police forum suffered as police support to forum patrols was withdrawn and with it, a reliable structure to pass on crime related information. “This has caused lawlessness with taverns operating beyond prescribed hours, becoming a place of vice and murder of patrons when they left for home and were occasionally where police vehicles are seen parked.”
Malobane further indicated that criminals took advantage of police invisibility to create a climate of public fear. This made residents not report crimes as often.
She said her department has initiated a social crime movement of key security stakeholders to help revise police visibility and their collaboration with residents and the police forum. The movement will meet regularly to encourage community participation, It will strengthen the forum’s oversight role on police’s crime prevention, ensure police are more accountable to communities, revive street committees and ward-based community safety forums, motivate residents to provide crime intelligence to the police and ensure streets, homes and the community are safe throughout the day. Also, it will ensure the enforcement of bylaws. The MMC for Public Safety Sello Lemau urged the residents to keep abreast with this development by participating in the forum and street committees.
Details: Department of Community Safety 011 689 3826.
