The Douglasdale Community Policing Forum (CPF) met with members of the Metro police and Gauteng Traffic Department to formally hand over a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which was signed on 24 March by Metro police chief Zwelibanzi Nyanga and Jean Berdou, chairperson of the Douglasdale CPF.
According to Berdou, the memorandum commits the Metro police to deploying a minimum of four vehicles (two for Region A and two for Region E), each with a two-person crew, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in the Douglasdale policing precinct. “The vehicles are not allowed to leave the policing precinct,” explained Berdou.
Previously, Metro police had committed one, sometimes two vehicles, to the area, however, Berdou said the vehicles were often not deployed in the precinct. “What makes this MOU so exciting is the fact that we are the City’s guinea pig. This is a test phase for the City and people have already started noticing the increase in police presence on the roads in the policing precinct,” Berdoux said.
Stephen Mosimane, director of Metro police operations urged community members to come on board and help police fight crime in the area, “We need the support of the community to win the battle over crime,” he said.
According to Mosimane, the memorandum is an extension of the Joburg 10 Plus Programme, which he explained is a ward-based initiative integrating bylaw enforcement, crime prevention and basic service delivery.
The primary focus of the Metro police teams deployed include:
- Effective traffic enforcement during peak hours.
- Stringent bylaw enforcement, including addressing informal trading, illegal posters and banners, dumping, vagrancy and traffic checks with an emphasis on addressing informal taxi ranks and taxi roadworthiness, informal window washers, and support for police and CPF operations as well as general anti-crime patrols and visibility.
- A new subcommittee, consisting of Metro police and CPF representatives, will monitor the effectiveness of the memorandum, receive submissions from the public and Metro police and will oversee the effectiveness of the memorandum.
- Metro police, together with the CPF, will pilot the use of CPF-donated cellphones which will enable Metro police to have sector policing-type availability, allowing the public to report traffic and other issues.
- A set of standards and norms will be put in place for the proper use of this Metro police sector policing service by both the public and Metro police. Work on this will commence shortly.
Berdou also handed over four cellphones that will be used by the Metro police team.
