Ban the sale of knives and pangas
It is scary how residents seem to be left on their own to take care of their safety and protection while criminals in the townships do as they please.
Streets in the townships have become unsafe for law-abiding residents to walk freely and go about their usual daily businesses for fear of criminals who roam around the neighbourhoods in search of potential victims.
Often these victims are innocent members of the community whose ages range from young children and babies to teenagers, young women and the elderly who are targeted for sex.
This is aggravated by the types of dangerous weapons such as firearms, knives and pangas. While firearms are not easy to obtain, the latter, are easily available and accessible at various hardware and informal shops in the townships.
With these dangerous weapons at their disposal, criminals tend to believe that crime may be wrong, but the authorities such as the police are ignoring criminals. Otherwise, why are all these dangerous weapons, such as pangas and knives, made easily available in public shops?
We need committed law enforcement to deal with crime and criminals without fear. If the police can stop and search an 18-year-old boy, and arrest him for carrying an Okapi knife, why does the same law enforcement not arrest a trader who sells these weapons openly to members of the public?
We all are aware that crime does exist in our communities. All we now want to see is a committed and dedicated police force to deal with it effectively.S’bonelo Malope, Phoko Section, Katlehong
