Stakeholders meeting addresses concerns over safety
The monthly stakeholders meeting continues to prove fruitful.
The Brakpan SAPS monthly stakeholder meeting was held last Wednesday at Thabong Wedding and Conference Centre.
Station commander Brigadier Fredl Jonck was absent due to other responsibilities, so Freedom Front Plus PR Clr Riaan van Zyl ran the formal proceedings.
Lieutenant Colonel Peet van der Schyff gave a brief overview of the current crime trends. He said common assaults, both liquor and domestic violence-related, increased from the previous year at this time.
Robbery with a weapon, house robbery, business burglaries and theft also spiked. The theft of motor vehicles and out of motor vehicles are also problem crimes.
Most house burglaries were reported in Dalpark Exts 6, 9 and 11. Leacheville Ext 3 has seen a concerning increase in all crime categories from the previous year.
Illegal mining remains a national crisis, and a task force for the City of Ekurhuleni was reportedly established with four officers and a captain from each station in the city collaborating on operations. These started early in August.
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When it comes to tampering with infrastructure, several arrests are made daily, but the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is still experiencing roadblocks with Eskom and the City of Ekurhuleni refusing to identify stolen cables and to testify in court.
Some of the security workers who have the jurisdiction to identify stolen infrastructure leave the security companies and refuse to testify.
They cannot be held in contempt of court, because subpoenas to appear in court are issued incorrectly. These subpoenas are required to be able to issue a warrant for arrest should a witness fail to testify.
PR Clr Tebogo Mathibane from ActionSA has engaged both the Kwa-Thema and Brakpan customer care centres of the city on illegal connections. Both centres reportedly committed to disconnecting illegal connections.
SAPS and EMPD are unable to disconnect illegal connections since they need a technician from the electricity department to disconnect cables. They are planning operations and are preparing for protests when they disconnect illegal connections.
Some members of the community brought to light that illegal residents of Plastic City allegedly pay bribes to arrest officers to mishandle arrests so they have to be released.
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SAPS urgently requests that such interactions be documented and reported thoroughly so the corrupt officers can be met with disciplinary action.
The Department of Correctional Services continues to work with the community, taking parolees and probationers to schools to help fix or maintain school buildings or install sports and recreation gear for the children.
The department also released 105 parolees and 70 probationers to clean up the Brakpan Cemetery on August 30.
The department made a request to stakeholders to help with the identification of registered halfway houses for parolees and probationers to stay in so they can be better supported and monitored to ensure they don’t return to crime.
The CPF reminded the public that it needs members to patrol to be able to address and prevent crime for the whole town.
The Brakpan Radio Group brought to light concerns about illegal boom gates on public roads denying access to areas, even in the case of emergencies.
Rural Safety has caught most of the cable thieves operating in Withok Estates and thanked the community for continued patrols.
A member of the public requested that the matter of hijacked buildings be added to the agenda. Thus far, no owners or community members have made reports and opened dockets with the station about hijacked buildings.
No eviction order can be issued if no report is made. In the closing remarks, the public was urged to properly practice personal security and take care of their property.
