The residents said the effort made by police was not enough.

They marched from Four-Way Stop through General Street, holding placards to raise awareness, which stated “Sekwanele” (Enough) and “Say no to crime”.

They handed over a memorandum to Capt Bhekisa Shongwe, who accepted it on behalf of the local police station.
Shongwe admitted police were overwhelmed by the crime in the area.

“We currently don’t have a station commander. I will accept the memorandum on behalf of Barberton Police Station and hand it over to the cluster commander (Brig Dorah Xaba),” said Shongwe.

Some of the issues that were contained in the memorandum:

• Outsiders bully learners and force them to join gangs.
• Schools were disrupted by community members during public protests, causing the 2017 pass rate will drop drastically in Barberton.
• Students from the TVET College and other institutions of higher learning were targeted by criminals in the early hours of the morning and students were raped, assaulted and mugged.
• Police were victims of intimidation, assault and crime. They also refused to assist the community in opening cases against criminals
• Police only arrested people for public drinking and ignored real criminals
• Police no longer responded to tip-offs and crime scenes.
• Police gave guns and ammunition to criminals, particularly illegal miners
• Police officials in Barberton and Low’s Creek were involved in serious corruption, like the distribution of drugs, dagga and gold. They also targeted dagga dealers and illegal miners for gold.