The Gauteng Department of Community Safety is on a mission to rid disadvantaged communities of alcohol and drugs and their lethal effects and to stop the easy access to inexpensive drugs.
This after Alexandra police recently expressed concern about the correlation of alcohol and drug abuse with soaring crime levels in the township; as well as the Gauteng Department of Education and other non-profit organisations’ concerns about children dropping out of school due to drug addiction.
In this paper’s article, Sleepless nights for busy officers in week ending 11 September, the head of visible policing in the Alex cluster, Colonel Johannes Tau, said murder, rape, housebreakings and assaults were crimes associated with alcohol and drug addiction.
Tau urged the implementation of tougher restrictions on the opening and closing times of liquor outlets, as well as stricter policing on easily accessible drugs such as tik, nyaope and whoonga, among others.
Police also advised those struggling with alcohol or drug addiction to seek free treatment at public hospitals or organisations such as the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence on 0861 472 622, South African Depression and Anxiety Group on 0800 2050 26 or Love Life on 0800 121 900.
Details: 011 689 3600.
