Joburg MMC launches JMPD’s Tactical Reaction Unit
The unit is a force of a new path that is going disrupt the status quo and fight crime fire by fire.
On November 10, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety in the City of Johannesburg, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku officially launched the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) Tactical Reaction Unit and Crime Prevention and Combating Unit.
The JMPD’s TRU aims to collaborate with the South African Police Service (SAPS) as a force multiplier, focusing on preventing and combating crime in Johannesburg.
The launch event was held at Moletsane Sport Complex and was attended by the Executive Mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda and City Manager, Floyd Brink.
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Addressing the public, MMC Tshwaku said the implementation of the unit is aligned with the aims and priorities of the City, which include making the City safer. The unit is a force of a new path that is going disrupt the status quo and fight crime fire by fire.
He further stated that Xolani Khumalo, a former Moja Love presenter best known for his drug-busting programme Sizok’thola, has teamed up with the City of Johannesburg to establish the new Tactical Unit to combat crime in the metro.
“The task of this unit will be to combat and prevent crime. That is the mandate that needs to happen because the citizens of Johannesburg have been crying for this unit to be formed. Our people are getting killed on a daily basis, our people are not safe which means criminals have declared war on our communities and we shall respond,” said MMC Tshwaku.
The unit will deal with domestic violence and any crime involving women, children and the elderly in addition to conducting daily searches, visible policing, interacting with communities, carrying out crime analysis, and gathering information about crime hotspots.
The JMPD’s TRU is set to focus on all criminal threats, from cash-in-transit heists to business robberies, hijackings, kidnappings, drugs, human trafficking, and illegal mining.
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According to the Executive Mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda, the law enforcements launched by the JMPD are not meant to decorate communities but they have been equipped to protect the public and improve the City’s safety.
“We need to take every measure possible in order for us to start dealing with criminal elements that exist.
“Our intention is not to go to communities with a violent approach, but our intention is to understand that there are a wide variety of challenges that exist in our communities and we are not going to tolerate lawlessness in our engagement,” said Gwamanda.
