The newly appointed interim chairperson of the Community Policing Forum, Sibabalo Mgijima, is determined to rally the help of the community and police to address crime in Alexandra.

Mgijima, who was appointed sometime after the disbandment of the former CPF structure, revealed that the current CPF is well aware of crime in the community because even outside of the formal structure, they have been working hard to address it.

Read more: What Alexandra can expect from a rebuilt Community Policing Forum in the coming year

“Remember, it is not that, since we are new in CPF leadership, we are new in CPF. We are not new in CPF or patrolling. We were in the CPF since 2012, and we have been active up until 2020, when we realised that the focus was no longer on residents, but [mostly] on schools and projects, we don’t want that.”

Although they broke away from the previous CPF structure to focus on residents, that does not mean they have neglected schools. “We still plan to look at schools. We are trying to make sure that we don’t have fights at school. Between 2018 and 2020, I worked hard with some teams to make sure we stop fights at schools.”

Now, as chairperson, Mgijima revealed his intention to convene a meeting with dedicated community members who previously worked to ensure public safety.

“People think that it is only those who are in the CPF that can address these issues. We involve everybody. Even before, when I had to deal with crime in the community, I had to involve a lot of people that are not even focused on patrolling. They were just people who were tired of crime.”

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It is this community involvement that Brigadier Vusimuzi Ngubane has often pointed to as a way of tackling rising crime and ridding the community of criminals.
Even Visible Policing Commander Colonel Jerry Phaswana shared that to address certain forms of crime, including the theft of motor vehicles which often happens at night, the community needs to step up with patrols.

Mgijima is convinced that the most effective way to deal with crime is to ensure the police, CPF, and community members are working together.

Similar to views expressed by the police, that sometimes community members know people who terrorise the community, but choose to protect them, Mgijima recalled an incident where he was chasing an armed young man who managed to conceal his firearm with the help of one of the elderly women in the community.

He said the culprit would be found, but not the firearm, and this, in a community battered with high levels of gun violence, is concerning.

He emphasised that the community must actively participate in the fight against crime.

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