Crime Awareness Day a great success

BEREA police created a fun day for the whole family and gave residents the opportunity to meet the men and women in blue who serve them at a crime awareness day at Berea Park on Saturday.

This year they used the soccer grounds to accommodate the large contingent of police service departments, security companies and family edu-entertainment which included the Metro Police Horse Unit, a dog agility show and Fire Brigade demonstration.

East Coast Radio DJ, Deon Govender entertained the gathered crowd with his quirkiness as MC.

Colonel Nathaniel Kweyama, Station Commander at Berea SAPS, officially opened the Crime Awareness Day saying the event was aimed at bridging the gap between law enforcement agencies and the community. “We need the support of our community because we can only win the war on crime and lawless individuals by standing together,” he added.

The day was a hit with the children who enjoyed walking through the various displays where authorities were able to share information with them as well as the dog and horse display. Andiswa Nzama said, “I am happy to be here. It’s been a very fun day and I believe the police are our friends.”

Neil Solai said the initiative was good for bringing awareness to the community in a relaxed environment. “It has been quite fun for the kids too and shows that this station is doing good work,” he added.

Guest speaker, Dianne Kohler Barnard, the shadow Minister of Police and resident of Morningside adressed those present. “”After looking at crime statistics in the area we see your murder rate is down to just two a year, the sex crimes down to 22 a year. Incidents of assault are down, burglary from your homes and businesses are also down. This is text book policing for the residents in this ward. These figures speak of a community that works together with its police and with a police station well lead and driven.”

Barnard encouraged the community to go to CPF meetings to find out firsthand about crime hot spots. “You need to get involved, join your neighbourhood watch, join this CPF, talk to your neighbours, which is difficult with high walls cutting each neighbour into an isolated cell, but having your own neighbourhood intelligence is crucial and it will save your possessions and maybe even your life.”

“Your police from Berea have shown that they’ll go the extra mile for you, so it’s your turn to join them in this daily fight against crime,” she concluded.

Berea’s CPF chairman, Paul Antao said he was proud of the police making the call to get the community together to meet and enjoy the day together. “A day like this allows the community to see a human face to the police,” he added.