THE strong message to come out of the Bulwer Safety and Urban Regeneration Forum (BSURF) meeting on Tuesday night was that the community work together with law enforcement to fight crime in the area.
Keynote speaker at the meeting, Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer, who is also the chairperson of the Safety and Emergency Services Committee at eThekwini Municipality, spoke of the escalation of crime in all communities. She said no community was devoid of crime and the trend was that there was crime prevalent in pockets of areas, which when addressed by law enforcement, shifted to other areas.
“Communities are up in arms and as a representative of the City I have tried my level best to assist. Crime is the responsibility of SAPS, with Metro Police assisting mainly in a preventative capacity. This fight requires the help and support of every citizen. At a recent meeting, Heather informed me there was no functioning CPF in the area which is a bad show. There needs to be street patrols and community watches which become a family working together. We can’t police every street, this is not going to happen. Residents need to take control of their streets,” she said.
Councillor Peer addressed the issue of the ward committee’s safety committee members, chaired by Jean Maharaj, working in the fight against crime, alongside the community and law enforcement. She also encouraged residents to take their concerns to the ward councillor, Mmabatho Tembe. “If we are able to do this in each ward we will be able to start building safety plans. It is important and it works,” she said.
Acting station commissioner at Umbilo SAPS, Lt Col Stanley Perumall, gave an overview of crime stats, mentioning an increase in housebreaking at businesses and residences, theft out of motor vehicle and general theft. He said carjackings and business robberies had decreased as police had identified groups of criminals involved in these activities and had made arrests.
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“There are ongoing operations in the area to crack down on drug use, with 110 arrests made on average per month, prostitution, with 30 arrests made per month, and drinking and driving, with 20 arrests on average per month. The Umbilo area has been prioritised and there is currently more visible policing underway in the area together with Metro Police, especially in the Davenport area. People must be aware of crime increases and be security conscious,” he said.
Addressing the deputy mayor, a resident asked whether the municipality had any long-term plans for whoonga addicts and prostitution, as once they were arrested, they returned to the area.
Peer questioned whether any municipality in the world had a long-term plan for addicts and prostitution and said there needed to be a consolidated plan.
“We are trying but we are not coming to a final solution. We have plans, but funds are limited. We plan to meet in two weeks’ time with NGOs to address the issue of whoonga addicts and homelessness,” she said.
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