CrimeNews

Policing precinct boundaries have been reworked

Due to the Gauteng alignment of police boundaries and the rationalisation of magisterial districts project, the precinct boundaries in Boksburg have changed.

The new police precinct boundaries for Boksburg came into effect on January 1, to align the precincts with magisterial districts.

The Boksburg SAPS precinct now includes Van Dyk Park, which used to fall under the Dawn Park SAPS.

The western boundary has also moved further west and now includes the Jerusalem and Kanana informal settlements, which used to fall under Reiger Park SAPS.

The new plan calls for the Boksburg SAPS to police only a portion of Freeway Park.

The Elspark SAPS will be responsible for the remainder of Freeway Park, and the border line is now King Fisher Avenue and Rondebult Road.

The Reiger Park SAPS’s western boundary has moved further west, as their western border line is now Simon Bekker.

No additional area was given to Dawn Park Police Station.

The Boksburg North SAPS received an additional area to service in the Jet Park area.

Precinct boundaries determine who is policing which areas and where crime should be reported.

It was unclear whether additional resources would be allocated to the police stations for the additional area to be serviced.

Boksburg SAPS station commander Biggs Govender said his police station has already sent a request to the Procurement Services Department for additional resources to service these additional areas.

This includes four vehicles to police the approximately 6 000 residents of Jerusalem and Kanana informal settlements, and also three more vehicles to service the Van Dyk Park area, with an estimated total of about 5 000 residents.

Officials assured residents that the realignment will happen without compromising public safety.

However, the new border has led to confusion among residents of Freeway Park, about whether their homes fall under the Boksburg or Elspark SAPS precincts.

One Freeway Park resident, Jenna Hunt, claims that she was sent from pillar to post after she contacted the Boksburg and Elsburg police stations to report a robbery, on February 2.

“We phoned the Boksburg police, but were told that we now fall under the Elspark SAPS,” she said.

”We then called the Elspark SAPS and an officer arrived to tell us that we are not residing in their area, and asked us to call the Boksburg police.

“After an unsuccessful attempt to get help from both police stations we gave up and the crime was not reported.

”We were not harmed, but can you imagine if we were? This is just unacceptable.”

The Boksburg police did not respond directly to these allegations, but admitted that they have recently dealt with a similar problem in the area.

They said they assisted the complainant and later transferred the case to the right police station – Elspark.

For more info about the changes, residents should contact their local police stations.

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