Mr Godfrey Mothibe will stand for another term as the Cleveland Community Police Forum (CCPF) chairperson.
The elections will be held on May 5, at the police hall at the Cleveland Police Station.
Mr Mothibe joined the CCPF in 2009 as an ordinary member.
“I then became a secretary. I served under two chairmen before I was elected to the position of chairman,” he said.
A married father of four, Mr Mothibe has experience in administration and education.
He said that working with people is what he enjoys most.
“I was working as an Education Specialist in Gauteng since 1994 until I retired in 2007. I now lecture at the Wits School of Education. I am also a church council member at my church,” he said.
Mr Mothibe said the CCPF has grown a lot, but more residents need to join.
“We have a good relationship with security organisations in our area. Many business owners and residents are part of the group. The only problem is that we have lost many skilled people in the past. These people joined the committee thinking there was some incentive. As soon as they discovered there were no incentives, and that they could not use the committee to advance politically, they left. This affected us a lot,” he said.
He called on residents to join the CCPF with an aim to serve the community and to fight crime.
“We have been able to reduce crime in our area. With the help of the active residents, we were able to help police arrest the balaclava gang. We have also reduced car hijackings. We can do more if more people join hands and fight crime,” he said.
Mr Mothibe urged residents to know their neighbours and to report suspicious activities in their area.
“This helps and it can prevent crime before even it starts. It is also important to know the crime hot spots and crime patterns, because you will then know how to respond when you are confronted by a problem. You can get all this information at the CCPF meetings, as the SAPS, metro police and security companies discuss this openly with the community,” said Mr Mothibe.
He said residents will be nominated on the day for different positions.
The meeting will start at 6pm.
