On Saturday, 9 June, the Potchefstroom police joined hands with the community and had their first crime summit. Different roleplayers from all over Potchefstroom came together at the officers’ club with the hope of somehow coming up with a solution to Potchefstroom’s increasing crime.
Brig. Steven Moodley, the new station commander of the Potchefstroom police led the summit. He was accompanied by the chairperson of the CPF, Malan le Roux and cluster commander for the Klerksdorp cluster, Maj.-Gen. Suzette Pretorius. The Interpol ambassador and chairperson of the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board, Andy Mashaile provided the highlight of the morning in his address.
‘Today, you are here to do the basics. It is important that you as members of the community work hand in glove with the police. You are the component that does not wear the uniform but you are in policing,’ Mashaile said.
He went on to say that it is important for the police and the community to work together with the media in order to inform the public about the crimes taking place.
After his address, the gathering broke up into commissions, each led by a facilitator. The small groups had to discuss where they think the biggest crime challenges are in the city, come up with possible solutions to these challenges and identify possible role-players that can be tasked to help solve them.
The groups then came back together and gave their feedback to the rest of the boardroom.
The feedback will now be used to form a plan of action as to how the rising crime in Potchefstroom can be dealt with by the police, community and the municipality working hand in hand.
