Combating crime in Westville

THE Westville SAPS is appealing to the community to assist by being their eyes and ears and reporting any suspicious activity. This comes after concerns of the increased crime rate in the area. The station’s communications officer, Captain Elizabeth Squires, appealed for everyone to be vigilant.
“We plead with the community to not leave valuables in your vehicles, to always check that your vehicle is properly locked. We are appealing to the community to stop feeding and giving the beggars money,” she said.

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A private emergency care noted the increased cases they have attended to involving criminal activities, including hijackings. The emergency care also highlighted the issue of drugs with their most recent case being a drug arrest.
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant Nqobile Gwala attested to the arrest. “We confirm that Westville police arrested a 20-year-old man for dealing in drugs. The suspect was arrested on the M13 after he was found dealing in drugs by security guards patrolling the area,” said Gwala.

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The emergency care said they will soon be introducing a technological system that will help the community combat crime. Technology is the largest enabler in identifying and apprehending criminals. We are busy implementing phase one of our dynamic camera-monitoring system in the Westville CBD. This technology has the most advanced artificial intelligence and was originated to combat human trafficking on a global basis. To hint at the capabilities, this system includes technology, such as weapon detection, gunshot detection, enhanced vehicle identification, loitering identification, and this is just a sample of its capabilities,” said Wynand Laatz. Laatz pleaded with the community to work with authorities, such as the police, to report crime.