Community policing forums in Ermelo are donated patrol jackets
Thirty-eight CPFs received patrolling equipment to aid the members with their tasks.
The Mpumalanga MEC for community safety, security and liaison, Vusi Shongwe, donated patrolling jackets and torches to a community policing forum (CPF) at a function in Ermelo. This was part of the department’s ongoing efforts to enhance the fight against crime.
According to a statement, the MEC emphasised that the existence of a good relationship between SAPS and the communities remains an integral part of crime prevention.
The MEC called on the CPF to continue working with the police for the sake of the communities. He mentioned that the members placed their own lives in danger during patrols with the police. He also ordered the security agencies to urgently deal with truck drivers who were parking just as they wished in most towns in the province.
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The MEC cited Ermelo as one of the areas with such errant truck drivers at night. He bemoaned that the failure to clamp down on these truckers may fuel crime, because criminals target them for their tyres, batteries, and other vehicle accessories. Additionally, he mentioned that the long-outstanding matter of stipends due to CPF members needed to be urgently finalised.
The MEC concluded by applauding the police in the province under the leadership of Lt Gen Semakaleng Manamela for the breakthrough made in the arrests of suspects linked to gender-based violence cases recently.
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The department’s spokesperson, Moeti Mmusi, said, “The department donated to 38 CPFs in the Gert Sibande District in order to make their jobs very easy. The other districts, Ehlanzeni and Nkangala, received their consignments early last year, and Gert was the remaining one. This is the aim of the department: to address safety issues in the province.”
