Multiple exit points make Midrand vulnerable to crime
Out of 144 police stations in Gauteng, Midrand SAPS is ranked 8th and this does not sit well with Brigadier Tsotsotso.
Brigadier Molefi David Tsotsotso, the Midrand Police Station commander has urged community members not to turn a blind eye when it comes to crime.
The Midrand Community Policing Forum (CPF) meeting at the station on September 20 was packed to the rafters at this meeting.
In his station commander’s report, Tsotsotso conceded that crime in the area was gaining traction.
He said that because the station was under the leadership of a brigadier, it should ideally be staffed by over 361 officers, but the current staff complement was 292 members.
“In terms of vehicles as resources, we are supposed to have 77 and we are standing on 76. Is this resource enough? Everybody will say it is not enough. Even as the manager of the station, I don’t believe it’s enough.”
He praised the provincial police for giving him the much-needed support in terms of providing resources and manpower during operations.
Of the 144 police stations in Gauteng, Midrand SAPS is ranked 8th in terms of crime statistics, and this does not sit well with Tsotsotso.
“Our crime is becoming a bit bad. What are we doing regarding this and what interventions to mitigate against crime? We need to roll out more operations, I have also established a business watch that will monitor theft out of motor vehicle and hijacking,” added Tsotsotso.
Crime statistics were read out to the public but not allowed to be printed in the paper. Among those, Halfway House, Blue Hills, Waterfall City, Noordwyk, Vorna Valley, Glen Austin and President Park were crime hotspots.
Tsotsotso added that post-arrests, their cases were increasingly being successfully prosecuted showing that the hard work and effort of the members was yielding results. He said from June to August, they conducted 99 operations and arrested 817 people for various crimes.
He said entrances and exits into Midrand were also a challenge as criminals use various exit routes once a crime is committed.
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