Brigadier Jacob Manamela, Randfontein Police Station’s commander spoke to the Herald on Friday, 23 June, about crime in town as well as a bit about himself.
On a positive note, Manamela said there has been a noticeable improvement in this year’s crime statistics as compared to last year.
“I am fortunate to now have a Vispol Commander and a Branch Commander. Our approach has changed and we now do a lot of operations, addressing crime hot-spots,” he said. He added that there’s definitely less crime than before in Mohlakeng and in Toekomsrus, but they and the Randfontein CBD still have the highest crime rate.
“Our biggest challenges at this stage are drugs, house robberies, house breakings and hijackings,” he continued.
Manamela continued, saying that from 1 to 22 June this year alone, there had been 51 drug-related arrests.
“We do a lot of drug awareness and work closely with Woman Against Woman And Child abuse (Wawa) in Toekomsrus as well as other non-profit organisations to try and curb the problem,” he said.
Another challenge he says is theft out of motor vehicles, specifically in the Randfontein CBD area. He urges residents to lock their doors and not leave any valuable property clearly visible in their vehicles as that immediately attracts criminals.
Manamela says the house robberies and house breakings in Greenhills, Culemborg Park and Homelake are also a huge problem. He asked that residents be vigilant and secure their houses as much as possible.
He said, “One popular item thieves are after is plasma televisions.”
Manamela is very thankful and grateful for all neighbourhood watches and the Community Policing Forum (CPF).
“The partnership we have with the CPF is a very positive and important one. Last Friday, we ran an operation at a hostel, where we made 16 arrests for dagga and dangerous weapons,” he said proudly.
“The community can also help the police by exposing criminals. Residents are welcome to even contact me, and they can remain completely anonymous if they prefer,” he said.
The Herald then asked him how he copes under such tremendous stress. He answered that he is a Christian and his work is his passion and his calling. All he wants is to keep the community safe.
Brigadier Manamela also said the complaints they receive about the shortage of police vehicles are something that they just have to deal with. “We get given vehicles, but they get distributed between all the stations.” He said they do the best they can with what they have.
“Our vehicles are on the road 24/7, which means it is impossible for them not to break down after a while. But this has also improved, as the garage that repairs our vehicles does it as soon as possible.”
After all the serious talk, the Herald asked Brigadier Manamela: “If you could go anywhere in the world on holiday, where would that be?” He laughed and said Mauritius and the United States of America …
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