Subbiah, who’s nearing 34 years of service in the SAPS, shared his “intellectual multi-dimensional approach” to fighting crime.
He’s been the Germiston cluster commander before and was with the police emergency service prior to being Benoni station commander.
All in all, Subbiah has had a combined 18 years as a station commander.
- His plans for the station
I need to start with my members. I’m currently doing an audit on my staff members to determine their ability to do policing, in order to see if enough is being done.
I’m also checking the work of the detectives, to see if they are doing what is required.
Absenteeism will be dealt with, as well as wellness of members, in order for them to be able to perform their duties.
If communities notice any unethical behaviour from my members they need to report it to me, but hard working officers also need to be credited. I do not promote abusive policing, but I adhere to the international standards of policing.
- Crime in general
As a resident of Benoni, I will prioritise the cleansing of the streets; to take them back from criminals in a dignified way and bring pride back in the area. Residents need not be exposed to crime.
I will also work together with the EMPD to ensure that the bylaws are being enforced.
There is a need to bring back community confidence in the police.
I intend to do my best and approach crime as intellectually as possible. My intention is to deal with criminals once and for all. I don’t want them to move to other areas, because they will be a problem there as well. I want them stamped out completely.
I have a zero tolerance attitude towards crime, but this should not be translated into abusive policing.
I believe in a service matching international standards.
- On drugs
Firstly, I’m totally against labelling drug dealers as drug lords and kingpins.
We do not pray to them; we prey on them, so giving them such names glorifies them somehow and I discourage you (the media) and the community to call them by such names.
I’ve already started profiling individuals suspected of drug dealing, because some might even be here illegally. I have a multi-dimensional approach to this, but I would not like to divulge it here.
We are busy with the sector managers and we are also bringing the EMPD and the K9 Unit on board.
Some of the houses suspected of drug dealing have already been identified and we will be bringing in other sectors of government, including Sars, to help us in this regard.
We also request the community to refrain from renting their properties to people who will misuse them.
Also, as a community, we need to talk our sons and daughters out of drugs, because such a habit invites dealers to our area. If nobody takes drugs, dealers won’t be here in the first place.
- Prostitution
I urge residents to refrain from using the services of the prostitutes. They are not interested in providing only the sexual service, they lead to robberies and hijackings as well.
- Housebreaking
The visibility of the police is a clear indication that we are fighting against this. Most of the perpetrators are guys who have been to prison before and we have dedicated team of detectives dealing with this.
We also can’t forsake the thought that some items are taken from properties through staged housebreakings, by people who sell them in order to buy drugs.
I will also partner with the insurance association, to ensure that some housebreakings are not done in order to defraud insurance companies.
We also urge residents to take full details of gardeners and maids they are hiring.
Most of these people, especially those doing piece jobs, are not really interested in doing the job they are being hired for, but are on a spying mission just to check out what’s on the property.
I’m also looking into the establishment of a domestic worker forum, so that we can have a database of their details.
- Street kids and street begging
I will be cleaning streets of beggars and street kids. There are places to accommodate such people and I urge communities to also discourage begging by not giving these people money. I have already met with Supt Jacques Vorster, of the EMPD, to see if we can’t enforce bylaws in this regard.
- CPF, security companies and communities
I have already met with other private security companies and I have an appointment with the CPF chairperson.
I’m looking into establishing block policing in the area, where we can have our sector vehicles deployed with private security companies’ vehicles.
I’m looking forward to working with them in order to bring back community trust in the police.
I will also be addressing sector forums.
As for the community, they must report crime and bring forward all information that will help us deal with crime.
- Roadblocks
We need community cooperation in this regard. Communities must submit to being searched, because we have some people who think they can’t be stopped and searched. They need to understand that police are merely doing their duty to prevent crime.
- Second-hand dealers and shebeens
A lot of emphasis will be placed on shutting down illegal shebeens, and second-hand dealers will regularly be checked for stolen goods.
- Car guards
New car guards will also be profiled to ensure they are genuine.
- Illegal mining
We will work with the illegal mining forum and the Department of Mineral Resources. It needs to be stopped and I’m certain we will find a way, because once it reaches the surface it becomes our problem. We need to establish if some of those involved are in the country legally or not. We will surely arrest anyone we find in possession of gold or gold dust.
- On 13 members being transferred from the station
When the provincial police did an audit on our station they discovered that there were in excess of 13 visible policing members, so they are being transferred to other station within the cluster, but they have been given an opportunity to make representations on why they should not be transferred.
