Gauteng provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Elisa Mawela believes mobilising resources could help combat crime in Midrand.
Mawela said this when asked by the Midrand Reporter if the current police station in the area was equipped and had sufficient resources to service areas on the other side of the N1 highway such as President Park and Glen Austin.
At the moment, residents in the two suburbs have to travel to Halfway House where the station is currently located which is about 8km or a 15-minute drive.
Mawela said the resources were never going to be enough but more private security companies needed to come on board if they were to combat crime.
“The fact of the matter is what do you do with the resources you have? Gauteng has 144 police stations and 700 informal settlements. So, think about it, informal settlements are more than the current police stations that we have,” said Mawela.
He said what they can do, is to get private security involved in a bid to combat crime.
“We do have plans to expand the number of police stations through Work Study Investigation and Feasibility studies and look at the areas that need additional service points. Mobile command centres can then be deployed in areas where one main police station services a large area so that community members can have access to government services,” added Mawela.
He said the programme was on course and is a long-term project.
Last year March, during a Sector 1 Crime Forum meeting, the station commander of the Midrand Police promised attendees that they were working on getting another police station for the residents in the two suburbs.
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