Traders, NPOs and the Community Policing Forum urged residents in Alex to become more involved in safety issues in the township.
This request was made at a Social Crime Prevention Campaign where concerns were raised about the high crime rate in the area. These included child rape cases, threats to and the killing of police officers on duty by known criminals, and the proliferation of illegal guns among the youth.
Sam Radebe of Responsible African Food and Beverage Association said residents should help protect the police from criminals. “When police arrest the criminals, confiscate illicit alcohol and raid taverns for operating after hours, people complain about harassment,” he said.
“This demoralises and makes it difficult for the police to enforce the law.” He added that if traders failed to make a profit during normal working hours they shouldn’t blame police raids and should not deny police entry to their businesses to enforce the law.
Because of residents’ disrespect of the law, he said Alexandra was self-destructing. “This destroys and turns our only future into a generation of criminals from an early age. It also causes stressful working conditions for the police who sometimes resort to suicide when they can’t cope with the high level of crime daily.”
Stephen Thamaga of the Community Policing Forum said some children were raped in taverns which also operated as creches and rooms for traditional healers. “This is known by the residents who do not report it but blame the police and safety patrollers for not doing their work,” he said.
Asanda Mabusela of the Victim Support Unit said the extent of child sexual, physical and emotional abuse was worrying and impacted their learning at school. “The abuse is perpetrated by people who the children trust for their safety in the home, school and the community. Occasionally the unit is forced, with police assistance, to remove children from homes to protect them from the abuse and neglect,” she said.
Mabusela also urged parents to monitor children’s exposure to TV programmes that encouraged anti-social behaviour.
