CoE acknowledges its role in fighting crime

Identifying crime as one of its main concerns, City of Ekurhuleni acknowledged its responsibility to create a safe environment for residents.

“We are prioritising crime prevention by not only investing in localised law enforcement but also enforcing by-laws, especially in taverns and clubs,” said executive mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana.
“We will escalate the number of raids in the city, reclaim hijacked buildings, ensure more police visibility, effective roadblocks, ensuring effective and continuous grass cutting in high crime areas where criminals hide and engage in uncouth activities.”

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He said metro police were directed to intensify by-law enforcement, protect municipal infrastructure from vandalism and combat the theft of electricity cables and arrest drug dealers.
“We will upskill EMPD officers to deal with any scenario while increasing the capacity of the department.

“Gender-based violence continues to ravage our communities and we have no choice but to prioritise it. Central to our interventions is the prioritising of women when it comes to the benefits of economic emancipation, education of the police on gender justice, and the establishment of specialised law enforcement units to deal with women and LGBTQI crimes.

“We will establish community spaces of safety. This is to be done in conjunction with NGOs that are committed to fighting GBV. These facilities must be well-resourced and run like other state institutions such as clinics and police stations,” said Ngodwana.

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He said CoE will engage public awareness and communication strategies and training interventions that are aimed at changing social norms while ensuring access to female-specific healthcare and sexual reproductive healthcare in accordance with standards of universal healthcare coverage.