The community who live in the Parktown policing precinct have been called to join the Community Policing Forum (CPF) and take an active stand against crime.
Members of the forum’s patrollers met at Johannesburg Botanical Gardens and Keith Fleming Park in Emmarentia for an awareness campaign aimed at park users. They also motivated the park users to sign up for the forum as it was the best way to work with the police to reduce crime.
Vice-chairperson of the forum Wayne Lurie said, “Instead of complaining about crime, we need to get up and assist where we can and do something about crime.”
CPF patrollers are volunteers from the community who agree to spend a certain number of hours in their cars patrolling the streets in support of the police. Patrollers will wear reflective jackets and use two-way radios to communicate with the police but are not law enforcement officials.
According to the forum’s chairperson Geraldine Connell they have grown in leaps and bounds in the past year and now have 100 members. They plan to keep adding to the group and be seen by the community and feared by criminals. Connell said, “We want to reach everybody that uses the precinct, that includes cyclists and joggers. We are going to come up with CPF-branded clothing for them to wear so criminals in the area know everyone is connected to the CPF.”
Supported by the new Station Commander Colonel Devan Govender, the forum is confident that there would be a positive change in crime trends.
Govender said they would commit themselves to bridging the gap between the community and police but needed the public to come on board to help. “Police can’t be held responsible for crime alone. The community must take accountability and responsibility for policing with SAPS. Parkview SAPS is ready to work with all sectors of the community and we are appealing to the community to join hands to fight crime with us.”
Govender is aiming to have visible policing on every street of the community and called on the community to join the forum where they would be trained and supported.
To join the patrollers please fill out the form on https://form.typeform.com/to/Urb6TAtz, and they will be in contact. For more details email vicechair@parkviewcpf.co.za
