CCPF chairperson commends JMPD
“We applaud the City of Johannesburg (COJ) for the establishment of the programme, which deals with ward-based policing."
Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) 10 Plus officers working in the Cleveland SAPS precinct were commended for their work over the past few months.
Mr Godfrey Mothibe, the chairperson of the Cleveland Community Police Forum (CCPF), said the officers are doing a great job.
“We applaud the City of Johannesburg (COJ) for the establishment of the programme, which deals with ward-based policing. The JMPD 10 Plus programme produced significant successes in the fight against crime. The officers are making a difference in the community. They are taking residents’ complaints seriously. They are visible at most of the hotspot areas in the precinct,” said Mr Mothibe.
He commended Sergeant Marius Boolsen and his colleagues for being accessible at all times to the community. Prior to the establishment of the programme, there was a lack of JMPD attendance at CCPF meetings.
Several problems raised by the community were not attended to. However, since the implementation of the programme and JMPD’s attendance at these meetings by officers such as Sgt Boolsen and Sgt Desmond de Mackett, more action seems to have been taking place against bylaw offenders.
The officers provide feedback on problems raised as well as additional information on action taken on a monthly basis at the meetings.
Windscreen washers
Some of the serious problems highlighted over the past year by the community were the windscreen washers operating in Bruma and vagrants in suburbs such as Kensington.
“Visible policing by the SAPS and JMPD to address these problems improved in the past year. Windscreen washers and vagrants were monitored,” said Mr Mothibe.
The JMPD and SAPS formed a partnership to address problems such as windscreen washers. They increased patrols to deal with problems.
Although keeping a close eye on hotspots, the windscreen washers return when officers change shifts or attend to crimes in other parts of the precinct.
“Unfortunately, there were no successful arrests and trials as there are challenges that include the justice system processes of courts to charge these people. However, the JMPD and SAPS’s assistance led to limiting the number of people operating at their usual hotspots,” said Mr Mothibe.
