Sunnyside community policing forum (CPF) has urged residents to attend their meetings and gain knowledge about the role of the organisation.
CPF chairperson Sandile Dube said people could find themselves being a victim of crime and not know what to do. “The CPF clarifies this. By coming to meetings people become knowledgeable about what to do and where to go when falling victim to a crime,” he said.
“The advantage of attending these meetings is to know which issues affect people daily. Issues like prostitution and crime hotspots are some of the many topics we discuss.”
Dube said the organisation facilitated communication between the public and the police. One of the roles of the CPF is to get rid of the general perception that police are corrupt. “People no longer have faith in police officers. If a charge has been laid and nothing has been done about it, contact us with your reference number and we will follow up.”
He added that the CPF also experiences problems like any other organisation, preventing them from running smoothly. “Although we have resources, we do not have enough. We don’t have an office, or a computer. We use our own resources, but that does not stop us from doing our job.”
He said they needed skilled people to help with designing flyers and raise awareness of certain issues – or any other skills on offer. “Any help we can get will be of great assistance.”
Dube reminded the public to report crimes to the police first. “The CPF does not act as a substitute for the police. Crimes should be reported to a police station and if nothing has been done you can come to us and we will follow up.”
If anyone needs more information or want to join the CPF they can contact chairperson Sandile Dube on 082 514 5258 or public relations officer Eunice Mnyandu on 083 540 8895.
The organization also has a Facebook page, Sunnyside CPF and Twitter page @SunnysideCPF.
