Officers honoured at National Police Day celebrations
A wave of blue swept through the Wentworth Policing Precinct as the police officers were honoured for serving with valour and integrity.
THE Cluster Commander of Ethekwini Inner South (EIS) Cluster, Major General Mandelenkosi Chirwa hosted a prayer day at SAPS Wentworth to commemorate National Police Day, on Monday, 27 January.
A wave of blue swept through the Wentworth Policing Precinct as the men and women in blue were honoured for serving with valour and integrity. The Community Policing Forum (CPF) as well as the faith-based organisations from the community joined the station commander of Wentworth police station, Colonel Willem Van Zyl and police in celebration. The South African Police service code of conduct was read by Constable Natasha Mei. The Community Policing Forum Chairman, Donny Anderson thanked the police for placing their lives daily in the line of fire to ensure that the people this country feel safe. He applauded the police officers for their dedication and commitment furthering pledging to support the police.
The various spiritual leaders from the faith based organisation in the Wentworth policing precinct lit a candle in remembrance of the fallen heroes in the organisation. A special prayer was conducted by Pastor Takalani of Grace Tabernacle for Gods protection over the men and women in blue. Pastor Takalani called on the community to protect the police and engage in meaningful partnerships to keep the community safe.
Major General Chirwa together with his team have launched a project at the Wentworth policing precinct calling on all stakeholders to join in partnership with the police to address the scourge of drugs and gangsterism in the precinct. Last week a corporate prayer was conducted at the places of worship where spiritual leaders adopted the ‘Community in Blue’ concept.
“From 24 to 26 January, police officers and congregants attending the places of worship were dressed in blue in support of the Wentworth Police Station. The policing precinct of Wentworth,which falls under the EIS Cluster, is a suburb south of Durban which has been plagued over the years by drugs and gangsterism. Police remain committed to addressing the root causes of crime through crime prevention initiatives within the Wentworth policing precinct and surrounding areas. EIS Cluster has introduced a project plan which was effective from January 2020, which by means of interventions, police aim to disable the criminal economy linked to gangsterism, drugs and firearm supply.The relationship between gangs, drugs and criminal activity is evident in Wentworth. The impact of gangsterism, alcohol and substance abuse continues to ravage families, communities and society. The socio-economic environment described above provides fertile ground for the recruitment of youth into gangs. Thus leading to criminal activities which has manifested into shootings, murders and organised crime.
“This remains a major threat to the social stability in Wentworth, primarily because the drug trade forms the basis for many other social problems and crimes. The rate of unemployment and poverty has worsened where the youth are targeted to carry out acts of violence. Young people in pursuit of a sense of belonging, survival, monetary gain and other sociological influences (lack of role models, exposure to high levels of violence in their communities, etc.) tend to turn to gangs. Persons arrested for drug abuse are mostly unemployed. Contributing factors to the abuse are, socio-economic challenges, unemployment, urbanisation, lack of parental care, school dropout and peer pressure.
“SAPS remain committed to fostering closer relationships with the community at large to create a safe and secure environment for all. The plan is an integrated approach where ownership and involvement of all role players within the SAPS and external will be engaged to normalise the crime in the precinct,” said Chirwa.
The Community Policing Strategy through the Community in Blue programme, aims to operationalise the concept of community policing with a view of stimulating active citizenry and citizen participation in the fight against crime. “This is therefore an approach that focuses on police establishing partnerships and enhancing working relations with members of our communities with a view of ensuring that our men and women in blue inherit a proactive policing approach in addressing public safety concerns,” he said.
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