Residents of Roodepoort Police’s Sector 1 meet to elect crime forum representatives

Community policing is about creating a multi-layered approach to crime control.

The Roodepoort policing precinct is broken down into four sectors, with Sector 1 consisting of Roodekrans, Wilro Park, Helderkruin and Kloofendal. Members of community groups across this sector gathered at the NG Kerk on Azalea Avenue to elect their crime forum representatives on February 19. The crime forum will serve as an important intermediary between the sector manager and the respective neighbourhood watches.

Sector manager, Warrant Officer Johan Loots has spent the past five months compiling files on role players who wished to form part of the citizen anti-crime force in the area.
To qualify for the crime forum positions, each applicant is required to be registered with the office of the MMC for Community Safety, while the list of disqualifiers is much longer. No police officer, private security personnel, politician, under 18, or individual with a criminal record would be eligible.

Warrant Officer Loots vetted 102 eligible residents through the MMC’s office, with the vetting process taking roughly a month per person. Under Community Policing Forum rules, each sector is required to have a crime forum made up of four positions. Votes were cast into a sealed box in the weeks leading up to election day, with votes being counted in front of the gathered electorate.

Karen Buys and Francois Groenewald were elected to the Secretary and Treasurer positions, while Sebastian Logan got the nod as Vice-Chairman. Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch’s Chairman and community Swiss Army Knife, Andreas Oberlechtner, added the chairman role to his list of responsibilities. The new committee will meet with their sector manager once a week to discuss crime trends and possible solutions to keeping residents safe from harm.