Criminals are ‘safe after 7pm’, says reader

ANONYMOUS writes:

What to do? A shop opened up in Nimrod Park. Unfortunately it started as a place for illegal gambling.

After a year it is now openly a place for drug dealing and picking up street walker girls, which they also do in front of the shop. They are “open” 24/7 although the gate gets constantly padlocked.

We contacted the police and informed them about this so they can come and clean up before it gets completely out of hand, as criminals attract more criminals. The officer we spoke to informed us they could not do anything about the gambling as they unfortunately did not have an illegal gambling unit any more.

However, as bizarre as this sounded, she then continued that their investigators only worked until 7pm, so they could not send anyone between 8pm and 5am (which is when this place is at its busiest).

Any suggestions would be appreciated as it seems that it is everyone for themselves now. I would also like to let the criminals know that they are safe as long as they commit a crime that doesn’t have a “unit” assigned to it and do it after 7pm. This is truly a free country.

Capt Jethro Mtshali, Kempton Park SAPS spokesman, replies:

The station commander of Kempton Park Police Station, Brig Bertha Kgoroba, has acknowledged receipt of the enquiry and was pleased that the community of Kempton Park is keen to work with and inform the police about what is happening in our area. This proves residents are really the eyes and ears of the police.

The station commander has appointed a senior officer to deal with the specific problem. She will ensure that the law takes its course soon and the place will be cleaned in accordance with prescribed laws.