At the final Edenvale Community Policing Forum meeting of the year, it was announced that additional EMPD members would be deployed in Edenvale at the start of December.
In the previous September ECPF meeting, Edenvale EMPD precinct commander Chief Supt Leon Saaiman said 100 EMPD officers would be distributed to the various precincts in Ekurhuleni North, which includes Edenvale.
The additional 10 officers will bolster Edenvale precinct and should improve visible policing and response time.
In addition to the new officers, he said the precinct is set to receive new vehicles in 2020.
Saaiman said EMPD has four patrol areas in Edenvale.
“The additional officers should allow for two vehicles and four officers per patrol area.”
Saaiman urged community members who may have concerns with the EMPD to contact him directly via email instead of posting the matter on social media.
Email Saaiman on leon.saaiman@ekurhuleni.gov.za.
ECPF chairperson Sheryl Damerell described 2019 as a ‘hectic but great year.”
She said throughout the year, Edenvale crimefighters had several successes which resulted from the cooperation between the community, SAPS, EMPD and security companies.
“As the CPF, we are an apolitical organisation and are willing to work with everyone to improve Edenvale.”
Damerell said the camera project has been quite successful in Edenvale and has assisted in recovering stolen or hijacked vehicles and cars wanted for other criminal activities.
“With the use of the camera system, we have between an 85 and 90 per cent success rate of recovering vehicles which trigger the system.”
Edenvale Police Station commander Col Sudesh Sookraj said compared to the statistics of last year, crime in October showed a decrease.
Although several crimes did decrease, assault cases and incidents linked to domestic violence remained high.
Sookraj urged community members or victims of any form of abuse to speak out and report the matter to the police or member of law enforcement.
With the festive season coming up, Sookraj said the police will conduct more operations aimed at preventing crime and increasing the visibility of officers.
“We will intensify our operations and conduct integrated operations with other law-enforcement agencies.”
Looking to the future, ECPF hopes to focus on schools and drugs in Edenvale.
Damerell said Edenvale SAPS has started an adopt-a-cop initiative, which sees one police officer appointed to a school in Edenvale.
The officer will be responsible for interacting with the school and ensuring that its learners and teachers are safe.
Damerell urged community members to remain safe during the festive season, to be responsible and to make use of crime-prevention tips shared by law-enforcement agencies.
For more information on how you can join the ECPF, visit their Facebook page.
