Lyttelton police takes war on crime to criminals
Lyttelton station welcomes new station commander and takes part in anti-crime operations.
The Lyttelton police station in Centurion are taking the fight to criminals, they said.
This, as it recently welcomed a new station commander and also took part in several successful anti-crime operations in the area.
One such visible policing operation on Friday morning yielded success as police raided a crime hot spot area under the Hendrik Verwoerd bridge.
Syringes used for shooting up drugs were confiscated from the homeless living next to Centurion Lake during the operation, according to spokesperson Captain Dave Miller.
Crime hot spots such as this one and the one at West Street near the Gautrain and home affairs offices, however, remained a problem for the police, he admitted.
He said handbag-snatchers in those areas were still “at it”.
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He said robberies and thefts out of motor vehicles were on the increase despite numerous police warnings to the public to be vigilant.
The public needed to start acting responsibly by keeping valuable items out of sight, he told Rekord.
Miller said another concern was the “unsanitary environment” along the Hennops River due to vagrants living on the riverbank.
The station also took part in a recent joint operation involving the Tshwane central cluster in which 72 suspects were arrested for various crimes over the weekend.
Crime prevention operations were conducted in the seven station areas that form the Tshwane Central cluster namely Pretoria Moot, Silverton, Villieria, Garsfontein, Lyttelton, Sunnyside and Brooklyn.
The operations focused on property and drug-related crime, unlicensed firearms and offences under the road traffic act such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Roadblocks, stop-and-search operations and information-driven searches at various premises also resulted in a few arrests.
Over 22 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Lyttelton, Garsfontein and Sunnyside alone.
ALSO READ: Lyttelton police take fight to criminals
The station welcomed Brigadier Themba Maduna (51) as its new station commander who recently joined their fight against crime and drugs.
Maduna, who has been in the police service for 28 years, told Rekord “we are coming for them (criminals)”.
“We are going to limit the opportunities for those living outside the law to commit crime,” he said.
Maduna wants to strengthen partnerships with current community safety forums and the private security sector.
“We need to have a community that has faith that the police will stand with them,” he said. “But most importantly, we need a cooperative community.”
Maduna said common robbery cases such as handbag snatching and breaking into cars to steal valuables remained a problem, despite warnings.
“The Lyttelton police is resolute in its quest to reduce crime, but the community must meet us halfway.”
Members of the public can report suspicious activities, persons or vehicles in their residential areas by phoning the 10111 emergency number.
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