Alexandra should be put under lockdown while security agencies sniff out illegal firearms and gun-toting criminals besieging the residents.
This was said by proportional representative councilor Phumzile Sithole following a recent crime summit involving residents and national security cluster leaders. The engagement was preceded by previous imbizos which seemingly have’t had much impact on the unrelenting scourge.
Sithole said, “The exercise should be preceded by the police minister and leaders of security agencies spending the night in Alexandra to hear gunshots that ring into the night in a display of the firepower that is in the wrong hands.”
She added that this was as the police station and the local court attended to weekly cases of reported murder, violent contact crime and robberies, rape and sexual abuse.
“The minister needs to spend the night here to understand our safety concerns and respond to our plea for the township to be cordoned off for an extended period and not a day, while homes, vehicles and other suspicious spots are extensively searched including with sniffer dogs to clear the area of illegal weapons.”
Sithole urged that an amnesty should be considered for those who handed over their weapons voluntarily provided the firearms were not linked to serious offences. She said decisions and recommendations from the imbizos seemed to have been hampered by lack of implementation.
“Solutions to crime should be seen and acted on through collective effort that includes residents as the police alone will not succeed.” She said this would, in essence, reflect the ethos of a developmental state that was not top-down but grassroots-based to ensure the sustainability of any programme and intervention. “It’s also our responsibility to care for and ensure our space is safe.”
Sithole added that there were WhatsApp groups on which residents could report a crime. “Crime should be made topical to encourage residents to tip off the police when they see it occur and should befriend cops they see on the beat.”
She attributed to rape and sexual abuse in the township to decay in morals and social norms. “The community should stand up against known sexual predators. We have ‘sick’ adults among us who exploit even kids through inappropriate touching which eventually leads to rape.”
The councillor urged schools to introduce skills to help children detect and report sexual abuse and the abusers to authorities. “Women and men should learn to speak out against such pests as they also fear exposure. Also the media should [expose] this problem more regularly.”
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