The DA in Ekurhuleni said that the recent tragedy which saw a four-year-old boy dragged behind a hijacked vehicle, highlighted the desperate need for a much heavier preventative police presence in hotspot areas.
Chantel Morris, of Reiger Park, was forced to watch helplessly as her child, Taegrin, caught up in a safety belt, was dragged away from her by the men who were stealing her vehicle.
His lifeless body was found 4km away, under the abandoned vehicle.
Reiger Park, in Boksburg, is a known hotspot for gun violence, gangster activity, murder and drug use.
It is vital that the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) offer its support to the South African National Police Service (SAPS) when it comes to preventing violent crime associated with illegal weapons and gangs.
The EMPD have had huge success with drug busts at OR Tambo International Airport, as a result of stop-and-searches as people leave the facility.
The DA has called on Ekurhuleni’s executive mayor, Clr Mondli Gungubele, to immediately implement a plan to increase EMPD patrols in Reiger Park and other major crime hotspots.
It is imperative that the metro rolls out similar stop-and-search roadblocks in high crime areas in an attempt to seize drugs, weapons and other contraband and arrest those linked to possessing and dealing in illegal items.
For many years the DA has been calling for an improved and visible police presence.
The EMPD should be fulfilling its current mandate and assisting the SAPS by increasing vehicles and visibility in areas plagued by violence.
