THE resounding message at Tuesday night’s Bulwer Safety and Urban Regeneration Forum (BSURF) meeting was that the community needs to stand together and take back the neighbourhood.
Speaking at the well-attended meeting, Heather Rorick, chairperson of BSURF, said residents needed to attend meetings where they could put their heads together and come up with solutions to fighting crime in the area.
“Crime is becoming more violent and affecting everyday people. I have been meeting with SAPS, Metro, the ward councillor and other key roleplayers in the community to come up with solutions. As a forum, our core issue has been the fight against prostitution, brothels, drugs and regeneration. This meeting is being held to give a background to these issues and to try find a way forward in improving things. There is no quick fix to these issues as there are rules and regulations to follow,” she said.
A presentation on human trafficking at the meeting addressed the need for residents to see the bigger picture when it comes to prostitution and vagrancy. Residents were urged to monitor what they and their children posted on social media, as well as to keep tabs on their children, to know their friends, their whereabouts and ensure they do their utmost to prevent anything happening to their children.
Lt Col Stanley Perumall from Umbilo SAPS urged residents to be on the ground, to beef up personal safety and take the first step to protect themselves and their homes. Regarding prostitution, he said 65 arrests were made during the month of December.
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“Even though it doesn’t look like this has made a difference, this is a social problem and the women can afford to pay the fines and be back on the streets, which is something that needs to be addressed. We are conducting operations at the moment in collaboration with many roleplayers,” he said.
Perumall also spoke about the need to elect new members onto the Umbilo Community Policing Forum, and urged residents to get involved.
Councillor Mmabatho Tembe spoke about the legal processes involved in shutting down alleged brothels and lodges in the area in an effort to demonstrate to residents the process that has to be followed.
“These establishments are registered and licenced as B&Bs and are very difficult to shut down. The courts only see municipal issues once a month and there is already a backlog. With enforcement, there is a process and it can take up to a year or two to close down one of these establishments,” she said.
Tembe said where houses are run as brothels, these have to be reported to the police for investigation. She mentioned a property in Essex Road where residents got together to report the alleged brothel, and encouraged others to work together in getting similar establishments shut down.
Heather Rorick encouraged residents to join patrols in the area. If you are over 18 and care about making a difference in the area, contact Heather on 074 203 2792.
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