Partnerships needed to fight crime
Strong partnerships must be formed between all relevant role players to decrease crime.
Mr Navin Bachu, the vice-chairperson of the Jeppe Community Police Forum (JCPF), said this in response to the Jeppe SAPS crime statistics that were recently released.
He had mixed feelings about the statistics.
“On the one hand, I applaud the efforts by the Jeppe SAPS. More, however, can definitely be done. No one, including the Jeppe SAPS management, should be happy with any of the crime statistics. As everyone says, one murder is one murder too many,” he said.
He said contact crimes, burglaries at residential premises and theft of motor vehicles must be addressed.
“These crimes affect the community directly and have various effects from a physical and mental trauma point of view. There are also financial implications with these crimes.
“Replacement of stolen items, insurance excesses and increased insurance premiums affect the already depleted pockets of the man in the street in these difficult economic times,” said Mr Bachu.
He believes problems cannot be solved by the police alone.
“The community, ward councillors, council, its service providers and the various departments in the Gauteng Provincial Government need to work together to resolve these problems. The difficult economic times, together with an increase in social problems such as drug abuse and domestic violence, make the situation difficult for police to manage.
“The Jeppe CPF, various partners such as the sector crime forums, youth desk and community street patrollers, need to draft an action plan and share the plans and projects with the community,” said Mr Bachu. He said crime can decrease if the Jeppe CPF, through the crime forums, spearheads a street committee and resident association projects in all sectors.
Mr Bachu, who is also part of the Western Kensington Residents’ Association (WKRA), believes the model used by the association can be used and tweaked to suit the various streets, blocks and suburbs.
He believes the media, social networking, WhatsApp, BBM chat groups and the Jeppe CPF website can be used to inform and educate the public about crime.
Social media networks are used by the WKRA community to fight crime, warn and inform people of what is going on in their surroundings.
The number of people joining these groups increases weekly and their determination to fight crime is evident.
“In the WKRA area, we do see increased patrols after an incident has taken place. Sergeant Patrick Tefu and his Sector 1 team have been awesome with regard to the response to issues and patrolling the area. The WKRA also patrols the area and we complement the efforts put in by the Sector 1 team. However, we would like to see increased patrols in the area and in many other areas. If an additional sector patrol van per sector is provided, then more patrols will be visible throughout the policing jurisdiction.
“It is a process and the community must become part of the process the Jeppe CPF and its partners can kick-start. The department of community safety can also be a strong partner in this education drive,” said Mr Bachu.
He said although the Jeppe SAPS is making inroads in the fight against crime, a partnership and information sharing between the Cleveland SAPS and CPF’s, from both stations, is needed.
Speaking about the Jeppe CPF, Mr Bachu said, “The Jeppe CPF needs to fill the vacancies open in its executive, then restructure its executive to assign key roles and responsibilities to various committee members. Even the I Love Kensington Association (Ilka) and other community organisations can be consulted to advise what works for them and what does not work for them.”
