New JCPF chairperson elected
Mr Dambula said his community service record comes from the time he worked as a quality controller.
The Jeppe Community Police Forum (JCPF) elected Mr Zola Dambula as its chairperson on Saturday last week.
Mr Dambula said his community service record comes from the time he worked as a quality controller.
“I am one of the first Gauteng department quality controllers who were appointed in 1996. I was handling public complaints in order to improve service delivery,” he said.
He said his involvement with the CPF started around the same time.
In 2013, Mr Dambula was elected as chairperson of the Jeppe Crime Forum Sector 1. In the same year, he was co-opted to be an acting deputy chairperson when the chairperson resigned.
He has been part of the committee since then.
“One of my main objectives in this term is to improve the relationships between the police and the community. I want to see stronger crime sector forums. Stronger sector forums will lead to a stronger CPF,” he said.
Mr Dambula said crime, including police killings, will be stopped if the community works with the police.
“The police should feel part of the community. An attack on them is an attack on the community. We cannot condone it and sit back while police officers are killed in our areas. We have to stand up and fight this,” he said.
He called on residents to attend crime sector forum meetings.
“In those meetings, the police share information about crime, crime risks and patterns. The senior officers from the SAPS, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) and security companies answer questions from the community. The SAPS gives details on who the community should contact when they have problems. These are critical meetings where critical information is shared,” he said.
Mr Dambula urged order departments to work together with the police in the fight against crime.
“Police officers sometimes get overwhelmed by things that are not in their scope. These are factors that increase crime levels. When the area is not well lit, and is dirty, crime levels will rise. We need City Power, councillors and other stakeholders to play their role in the fight against crime,” he said.
Contact Mr Damula on 079 481 9561.
The new JCPF committee members are Mr Dambula; deputy chairperson, Mr Bethuel Dlamini; secretary, Ms Zodwa Phaka; treasurer, Mr Katlego Mokoena and public relations officer, Ms Shirley Mpisi.
