Law enforcement work together to maintain high visibility
Members from different law enforcement departments worked together on Friday during a joint operation in Pretoria.
Andrea Küsel
Various law enforcement agencies took hands in a joint operation on Friday night to fight crime in different parts of Pretoria.
Officers from Brooklyn, Garsfontein, Sunnyside and Lyttelton police stations worked alongside Tshwane metro police (TMPD), Gauteng traffic police, security companies and local community policing forums (CPF) to clamp down on crime.
Various roadblocks were conducted across the city and some high crime areas were also visited.
In Menlo Park police had received complaints during the last few weeks about robberies at a popular entertainment spot in the area.
According to police the area had been known for public drinking, illegal trade in alcohol and illegal gambling.
On Friday night police visited the area in the hope of arresting a suspect regarding illegal alcohol trading in a specific street.
The suspect allegedly received a tip-off and hid multiple plastic bags filled with alcohol in rubbish bins around the area.
Police spokesperson Captain Coba Brits said police confiscated the alcohol.
“As soon as the illegal street sellers know the police is coming, they hide the alcohol anywhere they can, in rubbish bins and bushes.”
Captain Brits said police aimed to maintain high visibility in the area to solve this problem.
“We also urge the public to open cases with the police when they are robbed in this area. We struggle to open a profile of a suspect on only one or two cases. The more cases against the suspect, the better.”
Captain Brits urged the public to always observe and be aware of their surroundings.
She said the main goal of the joint operation was to maintain high visibility.
“It’s a Friday, it’s payday and it’s the start of the long weekend. It’s thus important for the police to be visible for the public’s own safety. The goal is definitely to prevent crime.”
About 104 members from different law enforcement agencies joined the operation and focused mainly on drunken driving, drug abuse, drug dealing and bars that do not comply with the liquor act.
“Different operations will be held throughout the weekend,” Brits said.
Captain Sarel Strydom, operational commander at Lyttelton police station said it was important to address petty crimes.
“If petty crimes are ignored it can lead to the decay of a certain area,” he said.
This could quickly lead to much bigger crimes he added.
At the end of the operation many arrests had been made across the city.
At Sunnyside police station alone 30 people were arrested for being a pedestrian source of danger.
“These are people who claim to be car guards, but 90% of common robberies are associated with them,” said Tshwane central cluster spokesperson lieutenant colonel Thomas Molefe.
Sunnyside police also confiscated illegal music at one night club.
“Counterfeit CD’s to the value of R6 955 were taken at a nightclub that was actually only licensed to operate as a restaurant. The place was closed down because of non-compliance with the liquor act. Later, 19 000 illegal MP3 music files were found from the same nightclub. The value of the MP3s is estimated at R95 000,” said Molefe.
A further 14 arrests were made by Garsfontein police regarding petty crimes.
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