Stakeholders meeting addresses residents’ concerns
Plans are to be made to better respond to scenes and manage first responders better.
Brakpan SAPS held its monthly stakeholders meeting last Wednesday to update the community on crime-fighting statistics and other items on the agenda.
Added to the agenda by the public were the topics of drug houses; illegal connections; people trespassing on mines or company grounds, demanding employment and causing general disruption; and places of safety for youth.
A crime overview was given by station commander Brigadier Fredl Jonck and listed common assault, common robbery, house robbery, house burglaries, theft of motor vehicles, theft out of motor vehicles and malicious damage to property as crimes on the increase.
Problem areas include all of the suburbs, but most commonly the CBD. House burglaries occur between 06:00 and 12:00 when people leave houses to take children to school, go to work or run errands.
House robberies mostly take place between 12:00 and 18:00, as well as common robberies (such as muggings).
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All other reported crime has shown a decrease compared to this time last year, and crimes dependent on police involvement have had major successes with reaching targets. These are crimes stopped by patrolling police or responded to by police without a report being made first.
The CPF noted that a lot of petty theft is happening, especially solar lights and cameras, that isn’t reported to SAPS, and it was agreed that these incidents would be noted and shared with SAPS, even if a case isn’t made, to aid in crime intelligence.
A member of the public asked whether all the taverns in the CBD, where most liquor-related violence occurs, have licences to operate or stick to mandated operating times.
It was noted that they do all have licences, but often don’t stick to operating times. They are, however, frequently issued fines for this, and upon investigation, if they sell drugs they will be shut down.
Illegal mining is an ongoing problem, and SAPS, CPF and other groups are working hard to fight this, but members of the public noted that it will be a losing battle so long as it’s not addressed at a national level, with combined crime intelligence finding the syndicate heads and arresting them.
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Jonck also reiterated that people will continue to mine illegally, or even steal cables, so long as scrap yards or others keep buying the ore or stolen cables.
SDS Security, the company currently contracted with Ekurhuleni, informed the meeting that Ekurhuleni contractors have to have a permit in their possession when they work on infrastructure.
If you see someone suspicious working on infrastructure or digging for cables, you can ask them for this permit to identify contractors against thieves.
Concerns were raised about cable thieves walking free because police refuse to make arrests, the thieves getting released before appearing in court, or the case getting thrown out of court due to lack of sufficient evidence.
Various obstacles to properly charging and sentencing cable thieves were revealed, including the failure of municipal or Eskom management for laying claim to stolen cables and pressing charges.
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SAPS made arrangements to have meetings with the CPF, the NPA and the municipality to try to resolve these issues.
The EMPD is working on instituting an immediate response system, to mitigate the slow turnaround times for cases and prioritise reports better.
This entails an application on council-issued cellphones that instantly notifies officers on duty when a report is logged and a reference number is issued. It is currently still in development, and officers are still being trained to use the application.
Correctional services suggested creating a shared database for CPF, SAPS and EMPD, where parolees and probationers are logged so that they can be better monitored for repeat offences or safety reasons.
Correctional services also want to collaborate with SAPS for school visits, prison tours for schools and further clean-up operations to help deter crime.
Emergency medical services warned the stakeholders to inform the public that grass fires sometimes have criminal elements and booby traps, including makeshift explosives, and that the public should refrain from helping with firefighting without the proper PPE.
The CPF addressed concerns about first responders fighting over scenes or turning their response into a competition for monetary incentives.
“Stop making a career out of first response. Remember why you’re doing this, to help people. Don’t fight when you’re trying to save someone’s life,” said Tinus Jordaan, the chairperson of the Brakpan CPF.
