Crackdown on crime in Tshwane

Crime in the Tshwane West cluster will be clamped down upon as 60 new constables who completed their police training were welcomed in Centurion yesterday.

The officers will be deployed in various stations and units in the cluster, which includes Hercules, Laudium, Erasmia, Wierdabrug, Pretoria Central, Pretoria West, Olievenhoutbosch and Atteridgeville.

Cluster commander MajorGeneral Tommy Mthombeni said the officers would be deployed according to crime patterns and would work in line with the National Development Plan (NDP).

“According to the NDP Vision 2030s Chapter 12, which is about policing and ensuring the safety of people, our officers will contribute to building a capable state.”

Mthombeni said crime intelligence would assist them in identifying crime patterns in the area. The cluster was gripped by property-related crimes, such as hijackings, business robbery and house robbery, which the new officers would focus on.

Operations would include targeting liquor outlets, as they have contributed to criminal activities.

“People who leave liquor stores are targeted and robbed. In other instances, those who consume liquor do things that are unlawful,” he said.

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As the officers started their first day on the job yesterday, Mthombeni said the new constables would conduct an air-toground operation in Olievenhoutbosch.

“That includes the help of a helicopter. We are both in the air and on the ground. The new officers must work as a team to analyse problematic dockets, to identify addresses and find crime hot spots before conducting raids.”

Mthombeni urged the officers to continue operating according to the NDP.

“We have to make sure that the community is safe and we have to do integrated operations in line with law enforcement – and by so doing, we will make sure the community is safe,” said Mthombeni.

– rorisangk@citizen.co.za