Cleveland SAPS precinct shows crime decrease

Statistics for the 2012/2013 year, compared to the 2011/2012 year, showed that murder, attempted murder, assault and common robberies decreased. Vehicle hijacking and theft out of motor vehicles also showed a decrease.

The latest statistics also show that murder, common assault and common robbery within the precinct has been the lowest in the past 10 years.

Statistics for the past two years showed that robbery with aggravating circumstances, sexual crimes, burglaries, theft of motor vehicles and robberies at residential and non-residential premises increased.

Constable Mpho Mashakane, the Cleveland SAPS communications officer, said station management is unhappy with the increases and police officers will continue to address crime in hotspots.

Speaking about all the figures released, however, Const Mashakane said management is satisfied with the numbers.

She said the station achieved what it set out to achieve in certain categories.

According to her, the biggest achievement was the recovery of firearms with arrests. She also said the Cleveland SAPS is making inroads in combating drugs. Several busts took place leading to an increase in successes in the statistics.

This was as a result of stop-and-search operations and information from the community.

Const Mashakane said assaults also showed a decrease because of social crime prevention awareness campaigns.

To combat burglaries and theft of motor vehicles, Const Mashakane said police officers are conducting awareness campaigns advising people to look after their property.

People are urged to park their vehicles in safer areas, or behind locked doors if possible, and to form neighbourhood watch groups.

She said Cyrildene, Kensington and Malvern are mostly affected by robberies. She said this is due to an influx of people in the area and a high number of unemployed people.

Speaking about crime over the past few months, action taken and successes, Station Commander Colonel Bongani Dlamini, said police officers under his command are working around the clock to arrest criminals.

“At this time of the year we experience a lot of problems. Crime goes up as the festive season approaches. Hijacking went up over the past month. These crimes are taking place mostly in Kensington and Malvern. We have, however, made several arrests and we have recovered vehicles.

“I urge people who have information on criminals to contact us. There are criminals who are known in the community. People were recently arrested in the precinct after being found in possession of drugs to the value of over R1-million. We received information from the community. We will follow up on all information we receive,” said Col Dlamini at a recent Cleveland Community Police Forum (CCPF) meeting.

Captain Hendrik Kotze, the head of crime intelligence at the Cleveland SAPS, urged people to report cases if they are victims of crime.

“We can only address and police what we know. We deploy more resources and manpower where there is a need. If a crime has been committed, please report it to us so we can take action,” he said.