Even if the number of crimes can not be reduced to zero, every success is one to add to the scoreboard.
Florida Police and community stakeholders have shown no sign of relenting in their efforts to remove crime from their streets. Combining to carry out weekly operations, each focused attack is multi-faceted, deploying a combination of by-law enforcers, private security forces, community volunteers and police personnel to areas where they can be most effective.
Three most recent operations, conducted in various phases, were ‘Porcupine’, ‘Zebra’ and ‘Chameleon’ held on random days between October 25 and November 12. Illegal mining and drugs are two mainstay goals of the operations while detectives, intelligence teams and patrollers combine to carry out arrests for outstanding warrants and issue fines for non-compliance.
With every wave of confiscations, a new batch of illegal mining equipment makes it into the zama-zama communities. In the past weeks, police have removed eight detonators, 11 blasting tubes, a motor, a grinder, a wheelbarrow and 38 different garden tools from illegal mining hubs. In searches across town, a total of R8 000 worth of drugs were confiscated, mostly marijuana and methamphetamines.
Roadblocks serve a key function in catching an array of offenders. A total of R29 250 worth of traffic fines were issued from the 75 vehicles and 137 people searched. Additionally, 21 arrests were made including four for drug-related crimes and others for warrants relating to shoplifting, fraud and robbery. Nine suspects were arrested in connection with assault cases – either common, with grievous bodily harm, or relating to domestic violence.
Alcohol is a key ingredient for crime, and second-hand goods traders are an outlet for petty thefts. Multiple scrap yards were searched, yielding one fined for licensing infringements and one arrest for fraud and non-compliance. A haul of 306 bottles of beer, cider or sorghum were confiscated from a tavern, whose owner also received a R1 000 fine for not having an adequate licence. The operations continue unabated, always reinforcing Colonel Amos Tsotetsi’s policy of ‘partnership in policing’.
