Stakeholders meeting provides crime overview
The meeting was brief so that stakeholders could join SAPS and the Department of Correctional Services with a clean-up project.
The monthly SAPS stakeholders meeting took place at Carnival City on April 19.
At the same time, a clean-up project was underway, headed by SAPS, the Department of Correctional Services, CPF and councillors from the Freedom Front Plus and DA.
For this reason, the meeting was brief and the crime overview and the rest of the agenda were handled quickly before station commander Brigadier Fredl Jonck invited attendees to help with the clean-up initiative.
After opening the meeting with prayer, Lieutenant Colonel Peet van der Schyff gave the following crime overview:
Common assault and assault GBH is still a major concern and has increased with five cases since last year at this time.
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Robbery with firearms is also a concern, as well as a sudden increase in rape cases. Shoplifting also increased, while illegal possession of firearms and drunk driving cases remained about the same.
There was a slight decrease in serious crimes overall, as well as a decrease in hijackings, but crime, in general, did not look good for the first quarter of 2023.
Despite this, great strides were made, and SAPS wished to thank all stakeholders for their contributions to fighting crime.
After the crime overview, a couple of residents took a chance to speak about the general lawlessness they experience in the town.
“Drugs are being sold like sweets in Brakpan. People have lost their property to drugs. People have lost their children to drugs,” one of the residents said.
Illegal connections and cable theft around Witpoortjie Street were brought to the attention of the police, and operations are in planning.
Another concern was the electricity pylons in Brakpan North gradually being stripped for scrap metal, which residents fear will cause them to collapse.
Another resident asked how the community can become involved in fighting crime and helping the community.
“We have the CPF, so register to be part of the CPF. We appreciate the community support, because it makes our workload a bit lighter, meaning we can help more people, but we don’t want you to take the law into your own hands,” Jonck responded.
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“People assault criminals during citizens’ arrests, and then the case gets thrown out and the criminal goes free,” he said.
The SAPS also enjoyed success in the last quarter. Currently, there are about 30 to 50 arrests for possession of drugs a month.
There were good arrests in the last month for tampering with infrastructure, and there were also successes with illegal mining operations.
Security cameras on the R23 are also now operational, and the CPF and security firms are working to get rights to help with monitoring the footage.
Jonck’s message to the public is to do their part to help fight crime.
“People need to stop buying drugs and stolen cables. Killing the market is the only way to stop these crimes, In this town we can make a difference if we just stand together,” he said.
