Albertsville residents urged to patrol streets and report crime after Sector 4 meeting
Sophiatown SAPS welcomed community involvement while addressing dumping, by-law and neighbourhood concerns.
Residents, community leaders and Sophiatown SAPS gathered at the Church of the Nazarene in Albertsville on August 1 for another Sector 4 community meeting, where concerns ranging from illegal dumping to problem properties were discussed, along with ways residents could become more involved in improving safety.
Sector 4 manager Sergeant Benneth Maluleke said he was encouraged by the strong turnout and residents’ willingness to play a more active role in protecting their neighbourhoods.
Read more: Sophiatown Sector 4 residents unite to tackle long-standing neighbourhood challenges
Illegal dumping and by-law enforcement featured prominently during the meeting. Maluleke said residents would be provided with dedicated by-law enforcement contact numbers so incidents could be reported directly to the relevant municipal departments.
He encouraged residents to gather evidence when they witnessed illegal dumping. “If you can take a photo of the person dumping and the vehicle registration plate, send it directly to me and not to the WhatsApp group. We’ll investigate it from there,” he said.
Residents also again raised concerns about the so-called ‘Pink House’, an issue that Maluleke said had been discussed at almost every Sector 4 meeting. “The issue comes up every meeting.
The property has not been hijacked. It belongs to siblings who inherited it from their parents, so as police we cannot simply remove them. We will engage with them and try to understand what is happening there.”
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Maluleke said community participation remained one of the most effective ways to improve safety in the sector.
He encouraged residents who are not yet involved in local community structures to join their neighbourhood WhatsApp groups, attend future Sector 4 meetings and continue reporting criminal activity and by-law infringements through the proper channels.
The meeting formed part of the ongoing partnership between Sophiatown SAPS and residents aimed at strengthening communication and finding practical solutions to the issues affecting Albertsville, Greymont and surrounding suburbs.
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