Collective approach needed to tackle crime in Sheppie
A collaborative response to the crime pandemic was necessary now more than ever.
Following a number of concerns from the public and businesses about the high rates of crime in the town of Port Shepstone and its taxi rank, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality recently held a Crime Prevention Indaba.
The Indaba was held at the Port Shepstone Civic Centre recently and it invited the private security industry, public transport industry, civic organisations, and more.
Ray Nkonyeni Municipality mayor, Sikhumbuzo Mqadi said the Indaba was aimed at charting a way forward to combat the scourge of crime under the theme “reclaiming our communities, towns and social spaces from the jaws of criminals – together we can”.
He added that a collaborative response to the crime pandemic was necessary now, more than ever.
Mqadi said the Community Safety Forum, which comprises of stakeholders from various sectors including law enforcement and community organisations, is founded upon the principles of the National Crime Prevention Strategy of 2002, which clearly states that that to effectively deal with crime and other related offences it is necessary to transform and reorganise government and facilitate real community participation.
He added that it further argues that they need to weave a new social fabric, robust enough to withstand the ever-changing tactics of criminals, saying that most fundamentally, their crime prevention strategies must move beyond a mode of crisis management and reaction to an effective planning, proactive and action-orientated approach.
“As members of the Ray Nkonyeni Community Safety Forum, we had a rude awakening when the country experienced the biggest civil unrest since the dawn of democracy last year. The nature and extent of that protest action has prompted us to re-examine our state of readiness and willingness to cooperate towards a common vision for a crime-free area. For us to share a common vision and strategy, we must collaborate and harness our energies together with the community through civil society organisations, and other relevant government departments,” he said.
Mqadi added that a quick scan of the crime statistics presented by Minister Bheki Cele in August painted a grim picture, saying that it is frightening that in the period between April and June, more that 6000 murders were reported in the country, with KZN at the forefront.
“Of those murdered, more than 1000 were women and children. More than 9500 rape cases were reported in the same period. Hijackings, housebreakings and all the other horrendous crimes appear to be on the rise,” said Mqadi.
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