THE police were guest speakers at this month’s Bulwer Community Safety Forum meeting in Glenwood.
Captain Brad Varley and Warrant Officer Padayachee from Umbilo SAPS, and Captain Danariah, Senior Constable Ismail and Senior Constable Ghidarie from Metro Police addressed the forum on 11 August.
Captain Varley introduced himself and gave a brief overview of his history with the police force. He detailed that there was a whole new team coming into Umbilo SAPS and that they were going to work on forming a partnership with the community.
Captain Varley gave the crime stats for July 2015 noting that most of the residential break-ins in Bulwer happen during the evening. Vehicle break-ins are predominately late afternoon and early evenings and the most reported hijacked vehicles are Toyota Corollas, Tazz’s , Fortuners and Polo Vivos.
He stressed the importance of not leaving belongings in vehicles as this is an opportunistic crime.
He said most of the other crimes happened during the day and criminals seem to know the area as they can get away quickly.
Captain Varley went on to mention that the new Colonel disbanded sector policing three years ago, but they reintroduced it three months ago. He urged the community to use the forum as a complaints platform between the public and the SAPS.
“Over the years crime has changed and policing has changed too. Complaining and notifying the police allows them to incorporate these areas into planning and information and ultimately leads to a better community. Routes are planned according to crime statistics and the planning encompasses crime tendencies,” he said.
He stressed the need to use Metro to deal with public areas, including parks and service areas.
Captain Danariah from Metro Police was questioned about the empty container at Davenport Centre. He advised the public to phone 031 361 0000 and report it. “The captain on duty must then come out and find out why there is no-one there. The public needs to be aware that serious crimes take precedent over a police presence at the container, and as such there is a possibility that the policemen on duty had been called away to deal with a crime,” he said.
Captain Varley and Captain Danariah stressed the importance of not forming vigilante groups. “Rather join the reservists and help the police fight crime that way. Do not abuse the suspects should you apprehend them, as this could lead to assault charges and the suspect walking free,” said Captain Danariah.
