Brooklyn CPF wants to build on past achievements

The Brooklyn CPF executive has said that its newly elected chairperson has not been involved in its work until now and was not told about their recent achievements.

Gabedi Mogatwe was recently elected CPF chairperson and that of its Sector 1 subcommittee.

The other members of the executive are Sub-sector 2 chairperson Louis Erasmus, sub-sector 3 chairperson Hannes van Staden, sub-sector 4 chairperson Mike Michaelides and spokesperson Emile Sievers.

In a previous article, Mogatwe told Rekord that the four sectors of Brooklyn have been without a CPF for a long time.

Emile Sievers said the committee hoped to bring Mogatwe up to speed as soon as possible.

“We are sure that once he has been brought up to speed, he will work hard to improve the forum, the community he represents and the relationship with the staff of the Brooklyn police station,” said Sievers.

He said the forum is however struggling to find common ground with a dysfunctional police station.

Sievers said the previous CPF resigned in September 2023.

Due to this, there was no one to organise the latest election hence the station did but later than the law required.

“It appears that not all parties have a full understanding of the CPF constitution, which may have impacted certain procedures,” said Sievers.

Sectors 2, 3, and 4 had been given timely notice, he added.
“However, there are some uncertainties regarding the Sector 1 notice and election processes,” he said.

He said though it’s difficult to predict what the relationship with the management of the station will be in future, the goal of the current CPF is to establish clear, constructive communication and co-operation with the police.

“We are hopeful that a more structured approach and assertive engagement can foster positive change moving forward,” said Sievers.

The current station commander is Brigadier Kushie Pietersen.

Sievers said it is too early to determine the future working relationship between the CPF and Pietersen because the CPF has yet to meet the station leadership team.

“We hope to build a co-operative partnership over time. While the newly elected committee has not yet had an opportunity to meet formally, initial discussions among members reflect a shared commitment to strengthening our partnership with Brooklyn Police Station,” he said.

“We believe it would be beneficial to approach the station commander with a willingness to support her and her team in addressing local crime more effectively. To become more effective partners, we aim to gain a clear understanding of the specific challenges currently faced by the Brooklyn Police Station. This insight will allow us to work together more efficiently in addressing the needs of the community,” he said.

He said though the previous CPF resigned, its sub-sectors continued to operate normally until the elections in October.

Sievers said the CPF’s achievements included winning Best CPF in Tshwane in 2022.

“The CPF has not only been active, it has been excelling,” said Sievers.

He said the CPF is well-known in the community of almost 3 500 people and each subcommittee has a Telegram group.

“We have done this with the assistance of bot technology that automates the registration and joining process,” he said. “We have a very good trust relationship with the community.”

He said the CPF also has deep co-operative relationships with the security companies in the area as well as various business forums and groups, leading to successful crime prevention strategies.

He said the response time to crime reports or other emergencies is typically in the 2- to 4-minute range.

These relationships also allowed the CPF to form and build a community responders unit, launch school safety initiatives, and hold first-aid and self-defence workshops as well as domestic worker safety talks. The CPF also facilitated the fundraisers for the acquisition of breathalysers.

Comment was asked from the police authorities and Mogarwe, however, none was received at the time of publication.

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