THE buzz is that crime is spiralling out of control in the Umdoni area and that police are just playing down the stats.
A source within the police (who obviously has to remain anonymous) tells us that there were at least 50 cases of robbery, theft and housebreaking in Pennington alone in September, and 30 in October.
‘Not true,’ is the official SAPS response to the Mail’s questions.
However, proof that citizens are very concerned was the turnout at last week’s Community Policing Forum AGM in the Scottburgh Town Hall. There were no fewer than 70 people who pitched up.
Anyone who has lived here long enough will confirm that this is not a bad turnout for our normally ‘sleepy hollow’.
These are citizens who fear that they can no longer rely on the SAPS alone to keep them safe, people who are desperate to protect themselves and their families.
They are keen to help the police fight crime. They will work hand-in-hand with them if necessary, but they don’t want to be controlled or dictated to by a government service that they are not too sure they can trust to do the job properly any longer.
This feeling of insecurity was exacerbated when a provincial bigwig from Pietermaritzburg allegedly gate crashed the AGM and basically threw it into disarray by accusing the well meaning forum of being ‘unconstitutional’.
The meeting broke up with concerned citizens none the wiser about how to protect themselves.
One thing’s for sure: Regardless of whether the stats”are accurate or not, the SAPS needs to do some serious public relations to reassure the people they have sworn to protect. READ MORE ‘MY TAKE’ HERE
