Tubatse’s new commander plans to uproot crime
“We have resources, we don’t have any shortage of vehicles, some police officers just need to pull up their socks and do their jobs properly."
BURGESFORT – New cluster commander in Tubatse, Maj Gen Masipha Joseph Maepa, wants to eradicate crime. Maepa highlighted that for the SAPS to fight crime and corruption they had to be professional.
“The police need to help the community professionally. Gone are the days when the police were feared. We have to build trust with the locals in order for them to believe in us.”
Maepa revealed that more crime-awareness campaigns were going to be hosted by local police stations. “This will teach young children about criminal activities.”
He said the public could help by supplying them with information. “We rely on the public to supply us with information on criminal activities and the whereabouts of wanted suspects. We also have suggestion boxes in the community service centre where the public can anonymously submit information.
“The community are regarded as the eyes and ears of the police and we urge them to become part of the police structures such as the community policing forum and sector policing, thus taking care of their own community.”
He said the police would do everything in their power to ensure that criminals were brought to book. “Our wish is for the community to have a good relationship with the police. Together we can make a difference in trying to reduce crime to zero.”
Questioned on the rumour that the police were understaffed and sometimes lacked resources, Maepa insisted they had enough resources.
“We have resources, we don’t have any shortage of vehicles, some police officers just need to pull up their socks and do their jobs properly.”
Maepa is not new to leadership roles, he has been a station commander at various stations including Soweto, Kliptown, Thohoyandou and Polokwane. He has been a general for the past 16 years and served as the cluster commander for Polokwane before moving to Burgersfort.
He acknowledged the challenge violent service-delivery protests posed to the cluster.
“We have a major crisis with the recent unrest in our area. I will schedule meetings with the Greater Tubatse Municipality (GTM)’s mayor Cllr Ralepane Mamekoa and the Sekhukhune District Municipality’s (SDM) Cllr David Magabe. Hopefully we will reach a solution to remedy the crisis.”
