Nobody knows what to do about destruction of parks
Something has to be done to find a workable solution to homelessness, for the affected individuals and the communities they reside in.
Public parks are enjoyed by communities across the city and used by the homeless as somewhere to sleep, both of which often lead to damage to these beautiful spaces.
Criminal elements who use the cover of vegetation to conduct nefarious activities contribute heavily to the pollution and destruction of the city’s green lungs.
Colleen Rood, chair of the Friends of Alberts Farm, has spent years trying to protect and maintain the conservancy site and natural wetland. “Putting up a fence around the park has made the area a lot cleaner as it makes illegal dumping and other negative behaviours more difficult.”
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She, like others, is worried about the closure of the Fairland dump as residents might resort to higher levels of disposing of unwanted rubbish illegally rather than make the trip to alternative municipal depots. In the frequent clean-ups of the area, they remove everything from building rubble, furniture and general rubbish.
Rood said, “Dumping and a general lack of respect for by-laws and knowledge of them is evident. Education around this is totally inadequate and the city needs to be more proactive about this.”
She explained how people think public parks can be used by anyone, for any reason. Baptisms in the spruit, dog owners not picking up their dog’s mess, runners and cyclists and general users all have a role to play in preserving this (and other) important green lungs of the city.
ALSO READ: How can communities apply pressure to protect green open spaces?
The Community Cleaners, a determined group of residents who spend their weekends cleaning up after careless and more sinister groups, are having a massive positive impact in their footprint in and around Fairland and Northcliff.
One of its founders and a Fairland CPF patroller, André Swanepoel, said, “People sleeping in our parks is a massive problem from a pollution perspective. It is definitely also linked to criminal activity because we find items that can only have come from crime like credit cards, ID books, jewellery, laptop bags, suitcases and more. It’s really shocking.”
He described one interaction when they were removing copper cable casings which were 5m from the dwelling of a person sleeping there. When asked, the individual said he knew nothing about them which was unlikely. He said waste reclaimers that sleep in the area know more about our movements than anyone else explaining that one sleeps opposite his house and is able to watch their comings and goings with ease which has the potential for information to be passed on to the criminal activity.
ALSO READ: How can communities apply pressure to protect green open spaces?
He described how they clean around the homeless without disturbing their areas but which has had unintended positive consequences. We often find, like on the Fairland koppie, that our presence makes them uncomfortable and they move on of their own accord.
Station Commander at Fairland Police Station Lieutenant Colonel Clive de Freitas said. “Obviously not all homeless people are criminals but they can’t be excluded. There need to be alternatives set up to deal with this issue as the current offerings by the state are not having the desired impact. We tried under Covid-19 to move them to shelters but most don’t want to go as they are not always suitable, for a variety of reasons.”
Xolani Fihla, spokesperson for JMPD explained, “When it comes to homeless people living or sleeping in parks, once that individual has occupied a built-up structure, the only time officials can remove the person is through a court order. This can take a long time to obtain.
ALSO READ: Spare the city’s green lungs
“The challenge officers have is to remove people before they build a structure, but they keep returning knowing there are no serious consequences faced for their actions.”
Jenny Moodley from City Parks said, “The reality is that even though the fine for illegal dumping has been increased to R5 000 which excludes the cost to restore the site and free collection service of bulk residential waste, littering and dumping continue to soar. Johannesburg City Parks and Pikitup are unable to sustain its daily cleaning activities without the conscientious support of residents and the waste-reclaiming sector.”
Nobody knows what to do. The issues around homelessness are so complex and involve so many different entities that it is extremely difficult to manage effectively. We have profiled most of the homeless in our precinct but our hands are largely tied as to how the police can respond to the growing difficult situation for all involved.
