Most of the crime incidents that were reported at Honeydew Police Station in January have occurred in Cosmo City and Zandspruit.
At the Community Policing Forum (CPF) meeting on 2 February, Station Commander, Brigadier Wayne Sirkhot suggested that a multifaceted approach should be adopted to assist Cosmo City.
“I need to have an urgent meeting with the leadership of Cosmo City, be it political, church and business leaders,” he explained.
According to Brig Sirkhot, the high crime rate in Cosmo City has put pressure on the station’s resources.
“Cosmo City is now worse than any other location in Gauteng and is getting worse by the day. We need a plan to recover this place,” he expanded.
Crime incidents that were reported from Cosmo City and Zandspruit range from murder, attempted murder, robbery, theft of motor vehicle and hijacking.
He urged the CPF to initiate programmes that would help educate the communities and ensure that residents were taking responsibility for the crimes that were generated in their areas.
“Cosmo City is falling, everything in that place is getting out of hand, and there is pressure in policing, emergency services, sewage, and roads. There are too many people,” he explained.
He concluded that an adopted philosophy and back-to-basics operation, meant that all stakeholders including CPFs, police, local government, JMPD and the housing department should take responsibility.
“As the CPF we need to make sure that we don’t sit by ourselves. Johannesburg Central and Honeydew are the two biggest problems in Gauteng,” he concluded.
Ward 100 acting Councillor Patrick Maisha explained that more resources were required in Cosmo City. “It is not only about the performance of the police. The land is very small and the place is over-populated,” he said.
Details: Honeydew SAPS, 011 801 8604; Ward 100 acting Ward Councillor Patrick Maisha, 083 540 2222.
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