Bramley View residents engage with police, demanding action against crime
Bramley View residents community safety meeting exposed a disconnection between official crime statistics and residents daily experiences, as frustration over police unresponsiveness to reported crime took centre stage.
Bringing together residents to engage directly with police officers from Sandringham Police Station and members of the Community Policing Forum (CPF), the Bramley View Residents Association (BVRA) hosted a community safety meeting.
The purpose of the meeting, held on January 28, was to understand crime trends in the area, rebuild trust between the residents and police, and to discuss urgent action to address growing safety concerns.
Read more: Bramley View Residents Association ushers in 2026 with community safety and unity top of mind
BVRA president Theo Lengwati said the meeting was prompted by the ongoing reports of crime, shared daily on community WhatsApp groups. To understand the trends better, they called the Sandringham SAPS and the CPF to come present the crime statistics for Bramley View to residents. “We are always reacting because of the messages we see on community WhatsApp groups, but when the Sandringham police read out the statistics, we found out only a small number of cases are officially reported, which is devastating. Most residents say they have lost confidence in the police.”
According to Colonel November Masina, from Sandringham Police Station, 19 crime cases were reported for Bramley View in December, including theft out of motor vehicles, house break-ins, business robberies, and common assaults.
He added that the statistics revealed that common assaults was the most reported crime, with seven cases in December, dropping to just one case reported in January. “The statistics show that reported cases for Bramley View dropped from 19 cases in December to only 7 cases in January, but that does not mean the crime in this area dropped. Its just that people are not reporting. As long as the community is not working together with [police], we will never win this battle.”
Masina also addressed domestic violence and assault cases, saying that some people do not report these incidents because of family pressure. “There are people assaulted by their husbands or wives, but they don’t report them because it’s their partners, or sometimes they don’t report for the sake of children. Such cases should be reported. Yes, we know you have rights, but there is no right that says a person can be assaulted. That is abuse. Please report those cases so that we will have the correct statistics and take action.”
Residents voiced strong frustration with police accessibility and responsiveness, mentioning unanswered calls, rude responses, and a lack of assistance at police stations.
Masina acknowledged these concerns and encouraged residents to report misconduct. “If you are being mistreated or receive poor treatment from the police officer, you have a right to report that person. If you are scared to report at the police station, report to the CPF. If the matter doesn’t get resolved, escalate it to district.”
Also read: Bramely View residents take bold stand against crime
During the meeting, residents agreed to declare a state of community safety emergency in Bramley View, the first step aimed at drawing urgent attention from SAPS, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), ward councillors, and other municipal departments.
Lengwati said the declaration will be followed by formal letters of demand to various authorities. “Crime has gone incredibly high in our community and we need active patrols, roadblocks, and stop and search operations, anything that may alleviate the crime that’s happening in our community. Safety now fills like a luxury, and that should never be the case.”
.Lengwati said crime that affect Bramley View the most are hijackings, business robberies, and a lot of suspicious activity around homes. He added that cable theft remains the persistent concern, with incidents occurring weekly or monthly. They are working on plans to gate the community, and to introduce access control, roaming security, and CCTV coverage. “At the end of the day, we hope that will deter even the cable thieves, because they will be thinking: ‘How am I going to exit, when this is happening?’. Of course, we are driving the community as hard as we can for them to be participants, asking them whenever they see or hear something to say something, even if it’s not happening in their yard.”
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