Police to fight against drugs
Police officers from the Tembisa Cluster held a drug and alcohol awareness campaign on Saturday last week.
The campaign was organised by the Tembisa SAPS in order to introduce Operation Pimpa.
The police were joined by other stakeholders such as POWA, Makukhanye, MEDSA, EMPD officers and peace corps, CPF, Youth Desk and Ekurhuleni Social Development.
The event was sponsored by members from Community Monitoring Services (CMS).
The police visited three crime hot-spots, the Sethokga Hostel, the Winnie Mandela Informal Settlement and the Swazi Inn.
The Tembisa SAPS spokesperson, Captain Manyadza Ralidzivha, said they urge residents to cooperate with the police in fighting all forms of criminal behaviour and eradicating crime in the area.
“We are tired of drugs and alcohol, which destroys the future of young people. Drugs are contributing to crime in the area. We appeal to residents to start pointing out drug dealers and the places they sell drugs. People should not be afraid to report crime,” he said.
Captain Ralidzivha said Tembisa has many burglaries and robberies occurring on a daily basis.
“The criminals even break into cars to steal radios and other small items. We are still appealing to drivers to not leave valuables goods inside their cars. Even if it is a small thing, your car might be broken into because of it,” said Capt Ralidzivha. He said the SAPS is aiming to help drug addicts recover from their addiction.
“We want to help by referring addicts to the relevant structures. We will monitor their progress. If there are drug addicts who want to kick the habit, they are more than welcome. We will help them,” he said.
About 10 500 pamphlets were distributed to residents during the awareness campaign.
A resident, Mr Amos Mathebula, said the campaign was a good idea but that some police officers should stop performing criminal activities as well, so that the whole community could cooperate in the fight against crime. “Some police officers use drugs. They also use young people on the street to sell drugs for them. Police officers are often involved in a crime. We are tired of crime as we sleep with one eye open. Criminals do as they please because they know the police attend to reports late. They arrive sometimes after three hours,” said Mr Mathebula.
Ms Lorraine Nange said she was happy to see the police’s visibility regarding the matter of fighting against drugs.
“Here at Swazi Inn, you cannot carry an expensive cellular phone because of the drug addicts. Nyaope addicts are a problem. They rob us daily,” she said.
