[GALLERY + VIDEOS]: #JoburgSafetyPrayer – Praying for the safety of JMPD officers

MMC for Public Safety Clr Michael Sun, chief of JMPD David Tembe, acting EMS chief Mhlengi Makhubalo and executive mayor Clr Herman Mashaba attended a prayer service for JMPD officers held by the Anglican Church of the Resurrection in Meadowlands, Soweto, on June 15.

Since January, five officers have died in the line of duty and two off-duty officers were killed.

The preachers were Reverend Kagiso Molefe and Reverend Mphehli Mankga, who led the congregation in hymns and prayer for the safety of our officers.

“I firmly believe we can put as many resources into fighting crime in Johannesburg as humanly possible, but without the support of the church and a firm belief in divine intervention, we cannot succeed. Through the church, the message of love, respect and upholding moral values are instilled in our communities. Without these constant messages of confirmation of standing firm against crime and a life of loose morals, our communities open themselves up to being easy targets for criminals.

“Keeping our communities safe is not only the job of law enforcement officers or the government. It is our combined responsibility as residents of the communities we call home. It is imperative that we bridge the divide between our communities and the officers who keep a watchful eye over them. We, as community members, must see ourselves in our men and women in uniform. We can do this through coming together in prayer.

“It is for this reason that I am so appreciative to the Church of Resurrection in Meadowlands for their invitation to join them in prayer today. There is power in the words we speak and even more so in the words we pray and I urge our communities to pray with us for the safety of the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep our residents safe. We will also continue to supplement our prayers with hard work done on the ground.

“As the government, we have completed the recruitment of an additional 1 500 JMPD officers who are currently undergoing training. Our JMPD officers are also well-led by the new chief of JMPD, David Tembe, who is already proving to be an excellent leader of our law enforcement operations. He is being assisted by our exceptionally dedicated and focused MMC for Public Safety Clr Michael Sun. Together these two servants of the people of Johannesburg have been entrusted to restore confidence in the ability of the city to keep our people safe,” explained Mashaba.

The mayor said JMPD has effected over 20 000 arrests since the multi-party government came into office in August 2016 and the Department of Public Safety has been allocated a medium-term capital budget of R260-million for the JMPD, among others.

This budget will also be utilised for the continued training of the 1 500 JMPD recruits.

“We are confident that this level of investment into public safety and visible policing alongside our firm and continuous prayers, will help us turn the tide on high rates of crime in our city,” noted Mashaba.

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