CFP meeting a success

“No one wants to wake up with a gun held to their head and I can assure you now that no one wants to come to a house that had been broken into and cleaned out by criminals.”

These were the words of a concerned resident who spoke during a crime prevention meeting held by the Randfontein Community Policing Forum (CPF) on 11 June at the Randfontein Rugby Club.

The purpose of the meeting was to select a community structure that would patrol sector 4 areas namely Greenhills, Culumborg Park, Helikon Park, Eike Park, Randpoort, Randgate and Homelake, where break-ins and armed robberies are said to be on the rise.

Unlike previous meetings held by the CPF, this meeting was well attended. More than 50 residents attended the meeting.

According to Randfontein CPF member, Zaheer Gangat, this is the most people they have seen in their meetings and it goes to show that crime has become an inescapable fact of daily life in Randfontein.

“It is important that residents know that we do not physically fight crime, that is for the police to do.

“However we are a structure that assists in fighting crime and we serve as the ears and the eyes of the police in our communities.

“Therefore we are gathered here with a common objective and that is to make sure that criminals no longer torture us and use our homes as their playground,” says Gangat.

He adds that people need to know their neighbours and urges that people should not live in isolation.

“It is imperative that you know your neighbours, they really are the nearest people to you and can help in crime situations by alerting the police when you are in danger,” says Gaangat.

Local resident Paul Matuwa used this chance to speak out about crime, saying that he has lost all trust in the Randfontein SAPS.

He says that he has been broken into more than five times and none of the criminals have been apprehended thus far.

“I have been hit by crime in more ways than I care to count”

“Surely I cannot be expected to fold my arms and let the law take its course when the police have failed to respond to my call for help,” says Matuwa.