Irked residents take fight against crime to the streets

Akasia residents unhappy with crime in their area marched to the local municipal offices last week.

This after residents met and agreed that more needed to be done to tackle crime in the area at a meeting at a shopping centre in the area in April.

During the march, residents handed over a memorandum of demands to the Akasia police station commander, among others.

The residents complained about an increase in crimes such as house break-ins, armed and common robberies along with a variety of other crimes.

Resident Rebaone Goliath said he took part in the march as he saw it as his responsibility to “stand up” against criminality in the community with other community members.

He said while the main objective of the march was to ensure police were aware of the community’s plight, another objective was to create unity among them so they could fight crime hand-in-hand.

“Once there is unity within the community, it will be easier to work with law-enforcement to work with us to curb crime,” he said.

Goliath added that through unity in the community, it would be easier for the community to identify suspicious individuals, vehicles or activities.

He also said that prevention instead of cure was instrumental in ensuring that crime was not allowed to be rampant in the community.

“Law enforcement should be visible. If we actively work with the authorities, it will deter criminals,” Goliath said.

Another resident from Chantelle, Lehlogonolo Mokonoto, said he had “lost patience” with the ever-rising number of crimes in the community.

“We hope to get regular updates from the SAPS and Tshwane metro police about the matters raised in the memorandum,” he said.

Mokonoto added that regular patrols with at least one SAPS vehicle should be done as often as possible throughout the day. Whistles should also be given out to all residents to alert others when there was an emergency or when they witnessed a crime.

During the meeting in April, former Akasia Sector 2 chairperson and resident Tienie Vorster called on residents to come up with solutions and suggestions to combat crime in the area.

“We cannot just complain about crime, we must do something about it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Tshwane SAPS district commissioner Major General Hilda Mohajane – who joined the meeting not just as a police officer, but an Akasia resident as well – said the community needed to become involved in the fight against crime.

“We must all do our part, take hands with the CPF,” she said.

Akasia station commander Colonel Boykie Ginindza echoed a similar sentiment, saying that CPFs assist greatly in aiding police in the fight against crime.

“We have to cover a large 152km radius area,” he said.

“Therefore we appreciate the CPF and community groups assisting us.”

Ginindza further said it was necessary for residents to report all crimes.

“Even if it is attempted thefts, attempted robberies or any crime – no matter how small, people must report it so that we know where the problem areas are,” he said.

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