Meyer calls for more park security
Ward councillors call on the municipality to make public open spaces safe again.
BEREA ward councillors have noted with concern the increase in serious crimes, vagrancy and petty crime in parks on the Berea.
According to ward 27 councillor, Martin Meyer, since Metro Police cleared out the so-called ‘Whoonga Park’ there has been a definite increase in crime.
Meyer says the problem was not adequately addressed by the city, but just moved and spread over a larger area.
“The recent serious incidents in Umbilo, Burman Bush and other parks in Morningside including the murder of the homeless woman in Florida Road, has clearly shown public open spaces are no longer safe for residents to use. If the city has learned anything from the Albert Park challenge, it is that it needs to act fast, before the problem becomes too large to be dealt with efficiently,” he said.
Meyer has appealed to city authorities to take immediate action to deal with this growing challenge before more lives are lost.
“First of all the city should increase the number of parks law enforcement officers, as the department does not have the manpower to adequately patrol and control the large number of parks in the area. In the meantime, the Urban Priority Zone guards should be reinstated and deployed to problem parks in the area, as visible policing is the best deterrent to ensure safer parks,” suggested Meyer.
Meyer also called on the city to work with local NGOs and civil society to establish and support shelters and drug rehabilitation centres to provide a real and long term solution to the challenge of vagrancy and drug dependency.
“The current approach of just moving these people around not only endangers our residents, but also the lives of the addicts and homeless as they are not given safer options to break free from the cycle they are caught in. The tragic death of one such homeless women in Florida Road shows how urgently this is needed,” said Meyer.
He said the city had a responsibility to ensure all residents of eThekwini were provided with safe open public spaces to enjoy and felt immediate action was needed to provide these to residents.
