Have you ever wondered when and where you are most likely to be the victim of crime? If you are a Melville resident, it is on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, with 4th and 7th streets the most likely locations.
This is according to Brixton Police Station’s spokesperson Jeanette Backhoff. In response to the Melville Safe Streets project, the Northcliff Melville Times asked Backhoff for an assessment of the area’s crime.
She said their crime-threat analysis identifies property and vehicle-related crimes and common robberies as being the most problematic.
“The suburb is a tourist attraction and close to universities with large student bodies. This makes it easy for opportunistic criminals.
“House robberies and break-ins, along with theft of and out of vehicles, remain high, but cases have reduced following intensive operations by the police.”
Cases of common robbery have also been reduced, she said, as have cellphone snatchings.
“Brixton police have weekly operations in Melville to fight crime. In some of these operations, we make use of other law enforcement agencies, such as the canine unit, crime intelligence, JMPD, and private security companies.”
Since April 2022, there have been over 100 arrests for various Melville crimes. She said if a spike in crime occurs, the police are proactive and put a stop to it before it escalates into a larger problem.
Frequent crime awareness drives are carried out ‘to ensure the community and business owners are informed of the problematic crimes in the sector’ and operations are held with the Gauteng Liquor Board to ensure compliance by liquor outlets.
The station will receive additional manpower in July and a new satellite police station will be situated in Melville. “This will have a huge impact on crime reduction and prevention strategies.
Backhoff encouraged the community to continue working with the police. “Residents and business owners can become part of the fight against crime by joining business forums, sector crime forums, and community patrollers, to name a few structures.”
When asked about public criticism of the station’s reaction times, she was surprised. “We were not aware that some in the community in Melville feel that the reaction time to complaints is slow. But we take this feedback and will ensure that our reaction times improve by placing another vehicle on the ground to assist with extra patrols and to attend to complaints.”
Related Article:
We asked some residents about their perceived service from the Brixton police in fighting crime.
