The treasurer of MGNWP, Abraham Dlamini, said they have 13 members nd have placed one of their members on a three-month trial.
“After this probation period, that member will be a full member of our team. Our objective in forming the MGNWP group is to combat crime and substance abuse, including fighting those who are selling illicit substances to our young people.
“We had to do something as the community because when you request help from Vosloorus police they take their time to respond,” said Dlamini.
He elaborated that their primary goal is to keep their area crime-free.
“We decided to put young people in key positions because they understand and know the crime patterns in our neighbourhood.
“As older people, we guide them and keep them disciplined. Our long-term goal is to turn this structure into a security company,” explained Dlamini.
A member of MGNWP, Ofentse Moeketsane, said because of the challenges they had since the inception of the patrolling unit they almost became fragmented.
“Even now, during winter, we are struggling to patrol. We are doing this voluntarily and most of our members are reluctant to patrol. We also did not have winter uniforms. Fortunately our community assisted us by donating money with which we bought winter uniforms.
“We don’t have government law enforcement agencies willing to work with us. We have approached them, especially the Vosloorus Police Station, and asked the police officers in the station to work with us in the fight against crime. We just want to phone them so that they respond in time if we find ourselves in a precarious position because we are doing this without carrying guns,” Moeketsane stated.
He added all they wanted was to have a good relationship with the police and assist each other in fighting crime.
“Unemployed young people have already benefitted from being part of MGNWP; they were offered an opportunity to get driver’s licenses through the patrolling group.
“The patrolling unit also managed to unite the community in the fight against crime and recreational activities. We believe in the future that MGNWP will employ young people,” Moeketsane explained.
According to Vosloorus SAPS commander Brigadier Ntombizini Thethe, community members who want to join the patrollers are welcome, but they must first meet the requirements of being patrollers.
“They must submit their fingerprints to be checked at the police station where they will be patrolling and ensure they don’t have any criminal records.
“All the patrollers must fall under the CPF structure and the police station of their area, meaning they must report to the crime-fighting forum.
“Thereafter, their fingerprints will be checked every three months,” Thethe mentioned.
She added if they meet the requirements, they will open a file for each of the patrollers at the police station.
“They will be allowed to patrol under the supervision of a police officer. A police officer will inspect them when they report on and off duty and also work with them.
“Those patrolling unregistered are doing a good job, but we encourage them to register. This will also help them in case of injuries while patrolling as they will be in our database. We will also recognise them as crime fighters,” she stated.
“Unregistered patrollers working alone may commit vigilantism, which is illegal.
“When unregistered patrollers call the police looking for assistance, police are not allowed to refuse as they have to regard it as a crime tip-off,” she explained.
The brigadier encouraged the community to call the police call centre when they needed the assistance of the police so that they could get a reference number, which they could use later to complain if they didn’t get the necessary help.
Phone 08600 10111 or 10111 or 112.
