Jeppe Sector 1 pushes for by-law enforcement

The sector 1 crime forum held its first meeting for 2018 at Mandeville Recreation Hall in Bez Valley on January 24.

Also read: Jeppe CPF focuses on community safety

Sector commander Sergeant Patrick Tefu gave a report on the arrests made in December and discussed the activities that have been taking place in the area.

Also read: Meet Sgt Patric Tefu from Jeppe SAPS

“We urge residents to be vigilant and be the eyes and ears of the police. We need to make our neighbourhoods safe again. The children are back at school and they need us to make sure they are safe while walking to and back from school,” said Tefu.

Also read: Meet Constable Mampa

He said learners from Queens High School are frequent targets of common robbery and that a man was recently arrested for taking a phone from one of the school’s learners.

He said due to the high rate of housebreaking in the area, residents must be vigilant.

Also read: Crime hot-spots discussed at sector meeting

Concerns raised by residents included drinking in public and spaza shops.

“The corner of 7th Street and Albertina Sisulu is becoming a big problem in the area. People park their cars on the pavements during the day and drink throughout the day,” said a concerned resident.

“As parents, we are concerned because that area is close to a school and children walk by. We fear for their safety. It also sends a wrong message to the children that drinking in public is cool, which it is not.”

Jeppe Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Zola Dambula said these cases relate to by-laws infringements.

“Alcohol is a big generator of crime. Cases like this will in future be referred to municipal courts. Police arrest them and they just pay fines and disappear for few days. They come back. In the municipal court it will be handled accordingly,” said Dambula.

Tefu advised residents to share information on hot-spots or problem areas.

“Police will put them up on the list for raids, as most of them do not even have the relevant licences to be operating.

“All stakeholders will come together including councillors, the liquor board, home affairs and social development in order to succeed in addressing these issues, because some people are not here legally but yet run businesses,” said Tefu.

Residents also questioned whether spaza shops applied for re-zoning.

“Some of these spaza shops are a health hazard because they don’t clean their shops. This is a residential area but it now seems as if everyone who feels like opening a spaza shop is doing so,” said a resident.

“They cause chaos because you find people just hanging around the shops doing nothing.”

Tefu said they will visit the shops during the crime-fighting operation Feila.

“We will get the health department involved to come with us to these spaza shops and perform inspections to check if they have permits to run a spaza shop. Again, we need the community to report these shops to us,” said Tefu.

Operation Feila phase two was launched last week Tuesday by Police Minister Fikile Mbalula in Newtown.

The aim of the operation is to arrest suspects, remove criminals and close down the places from which they operate.

The police will be working with other departments including Home Affairs.

The first Feila operation was launched in 2015 with a sharp focus on illegal immigrants.

“With Operation Feila we want to close down illegal businesses and win the war against crime. We want our communities to be safe again. Residents are invited to share information on hot-spots that are problematic and we will take it from there,” said Tefu.

Dambula encouraged residents to attend sector meetings because they provide important information.

“We need to come together as a community and fight crime. If you don’t attend these meetings you miss out on information, because this is where we discuss the issue that directly affects a specific area.

“You also get to know the right process of how to report a crime in your area and to who to report it to,” said Dambula.

The next sector 1 meeting will be in Mandeville on February 21 at 6.30pm.

Residents are urged to keep these numbers:

• Visible policing commander Hlakutsi – 082 319 9681
• Relief commander – 082 371 9746
• Jeppe SAPS station commander, Brigadier Thembekile Kubone – 071 675 9994
• Sector commander, Sergeant Patrick Tefu – 079 886 3543 or 079 086 7818
• Jeppe CPF chairperson Zola Dambula – 084 767 4727
• Sector crime forum chairperson Patty Naidoo – 083 879 4591
• JMPD control room – 011 758 9621
• JMPD ward commander Pasha – 061 404 5155
• JMPD noise control – 011 758 9650

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