CPF hosted a public meeting at Marks Park Sports Ground to discuss growing concerns about displaced people living in surrounding suburbs.
Geraldine Connell, chair of the CPF said the meeting was two years in the making after a survey was conducted that found more than half of the respondents said they were concerned about the issue. “There are strong views on both sides, one worried about the security risk of displaced persons in our communities and the other worried about their human rights and dignity.”
It was clear from all contributions to the evening’s discussions that a multi-stakeholder approach was needed including JMPD, the City of Johannesburg, councillors, civil society, home affairs, the police, and other departments.
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Parkview police station commander Colonel Devan Govender said that in the six months he has been at the station, extensive profiling and fingerprinting had been done on the homeless.
He noted that apart from a few individuals, all were South African. In relation to possible links to crime, he says, “One cannot ignore the fact that criminal elements sometimes come from homeless people in our suburbs but because they are moving around it is difficult to trace suspects.”
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He further stressed how important the CPF and its patrollers are in being the eyes and ears of the community as police cannot be everywhere all the time.
Fairland CPF public relations officer Mike Styer made a general comment saying, “People who don’t think the homeless are involved in crime are not seeing what we see every day. They sit in our communities watching our movements and discard stuff constantly after criminal acts. In the parks which we clean we find copper cable casings and so on. The waste pickers who perform a service are transient and we don’t think they are of much concern.”
Thabo Thipe from the community policing forum says, “Partnerships between law enforcement and community organisations like CPFs and NGOs are critical if we are to tackle this effectively.”
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He suggested that individuals who wish to help beggars and the homeless should not give them food or money, but should rather support registered organisations that help them formally as this will deter some from remaining in neighbourhoods because it is easy to get funds and sustenance.
Representatives of CRUM (The City of Johannesburg’s Citizen Relationship and Urban Management) were in attendance and took detailed notes from contributions by the panel and community members. They will compile a report and a second meeting will be held in the next few weeks to begin to plot a coordinated way forward.
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