New chairman for Berea CPF

BEREA police Community Police Forum met on Thursday evening St Joseph Church on Florida Road to elect a new committee.

Paul Antao, outgoing CPF chairman, chaired the traditionally closed meeting, which was well attended by the community. “We decided to open the meeting to the community because we want to get more community involvement. As I always say, we inherit the police we deserve. The only way to to deal with issues of crime is to partner with police as a community and remember crime prevention is our responsibility,” he said.

After more than a decade in the CPF and at least seven years as chairman, Antao said he was happy to hand over the baton to the newly elected chairman, Grant Smith.

“I’m very excited with the new portfolio, having been involved in the CPF for some time now. I look forward to getting more involved in partnerships with businesses, community members, Metro Police, security companies and the police. I aim to make the area a safer place to live in and visit as well,” said Smith, adding it was important for the CPF to have community involvement.

“We need the community to support us with events and projects. Currently we are working on bringing flower beds to the station to give is a cheerful look and uplift both the community and police members. Some projects are small things that anyone can get involved in, but there are bigger things we want to do, the idea is to help the police where we can,” he explained.

Smith said he hoped to continue the excellent relationship between the CPF and police. “People can get involved on an ongoing basis,” he added. Anyone who would like to get involved in the CPF or the various projects can contact Grant on 079 086 7944.

CPF meetings are held on the last Thursday of every month.