The latest crime statistics from Midrand authorities indicate that Glen Austin is one of the crime-ridden suburbs in Sector 1.
Addressing residents at the Sector 1 Crime Forum meeting on March 19, Station Commander of the Midrand Police Station Brigadier Molefi Tsotsotso has promised to combat all forms of criminal activities.
Tsotsotso said working together with the community and the community patrollers can help combat crimes – which occurs mostly from Thursdays all the way to Sundays in the area.
“It is important that we (the police) have a partnership with the residents where we focus on areas that are considered flashpoints. As I was looking for areas with high crime numbers in Sector 1 for February, I found that Halfway House was number one, followed by Glen Austin, then President Park and Randjespark.”
He said although the general crime numbers have plummeted significantly in his five-year tenure as the Station Commander, that does not mean they must rest on their laurels.
“When I took over in May 2017, one key aspect to note is that Midrand Police Station’s general crime numbers were over 12 000 per year, but with the efforts of everyone involved, and I would like to thank them very much in assisting us to fight crime, we managed to move it down to 8 000 and now we are standing at about 5 000 cases yearly.”
Sector 1 Crime Forum chairperson Jonathan ‘Joe’ Burrows said he was pleased with the promises made by Tsotsotso in a bid to fight crime and added that there was a dire need for police visibility in the area. “As a community, we need to take crime seriously and work together with the police and the patrollers in eradicating crime because that can go a long way.
“Our main problem is that we do not have enough patrollers to assist, and we urge every community members to come help us.”
Tsotsotso promised more police visibility in the area, declaring to deploy more manpower and vehicles to safeguard the area.
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