Jeppe police have sent out a stern warning to the public urging them not to report crime via social media platforms but rather contact the police directly.
Captain Richard Munyayi, spokesperson for Jeppe Police Station, said they do not encourage people, especially victims, to report their incidents on social media platforms. He said the community and police WhatsApp groups are for casual interaction between the police and the community, not for serious or emergency cases.
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“We have people who post that they have opened a case with our station and when we ask for a case number they will tell you they posted it on our WhatsApp group,” said Munyayi.
“We request the public to use the available channels including visiting the station or contacting a 10111 number.”
Otherwise, Munyayi recommended that victims or the public itself should have the numbers of their sector managers, duty officers and commanders and use that to report a crime. “Even if the community has information regarding criminal activities or about wanted suspects they should report it privately, by dialling our client service centre, the detective contact number which is 011 624 6026 or the duty officer who will be on standby on 082 371 9743. They can also contact the relief commander, who is in charge of the client service centre on 082 371 9746,” said Munyayi.
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He encouraged people to continue participating in the WhatsApp groups currently used to share information regarding meetings, advice and compliments. Community members are also urged to attend sector meetings. “We appreciate the relationship that we have with most of the community members who are working with us in terms of cooperation, reporting of criminal activities and giving us information.”
Details: Jeppe Police Station 011 624 6042.
