Councillor encourages residents to sign boom petition

DESPITE guard huts and boom gates already visible in some areas of the city, the eThekwini Council has dismissed a motion which was brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in eThekwini requesting the City’s Community and Emergency Services Committee to look into drafting an official policy on privately funded security measures in public areas.

During the debate on the motion, the DA argued that violent crimes have escalated across the country and many communities within eThekwini are constantly looking for ways to strengthen safety and security in their neighbourhoods.

Councillor Chris Pappas said recent crime statistics showed that house robberies, theft of motor vehicles, business robbery and carjackings in Central Durban and other suburbs have increased in the past financial year.

“The City’s current bylaws have no set rules or regulations when it comes to the installation of security measures on public roads yet the motion was voted down by the governing party without taking into consideration the substance or the motivation of the motion. The request was made in order to investigate the possibility of introducing a policy or bylaw on how to regulate measures such as guard huts, boom gates and street patrols should work,” he said.

Pappas said there are communities around the city that have already erected guard huts and boom gates.

“Some of them have been taken down but the problem is that there is no policy or bylaw that regulates how it all works. That’s what the substance of the request entailed, to develop a policy that states what is allowed and what is not allowed if residents choose to embark on such additional security measure within their neighbourhoods. Other cities across the country have allowed privately funded security measures to be implemented in line with the Constitution, why does eThekwini not do the same?” said Pappas.

ALSO READ: Support grows for Morningside boom gates

He said in September the City of Johannesburg approved a revised Security Access Restriction Policy. Among other things, the policy compels the public using certain city roads to sign in at boom entrances. Pappas said the purpose of the policy is not to restrict access to people on public roads, but instead to create measures that legitimate security presence and in return enhance crime prevention initiatives.

“The Democratic Alliance will continue to explore other avenues to assist communities in curbing escalating crime within their communities ultimately assisting our city’s under-resourced SAPS and Metro Police. A petition has been made available on Facebook that would be presented to the city indicating the need for such a policy within eThekwini. More than 1600 residents have already signed the petition,” he said.

The petition is available on the Sydenham/Asherville or Musgrave/Overport community Noticeboard Facebook page and residents are urged to sign this petition and send it to their friends and family across the city.

Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.

You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts