According to CCPO's Leon Joone, the witness had seen two men jump over the wall of a property and were subsequently arrested by CCPO members, after they had been alerted to the duo's whereabouts.
Further investigations revealed an attempted break-in at the property. Although a docket was opened, the men had to be released due to the witness' reluctance to make a statement.
CCPO chairman, Richard Allkins is disappointed at the turn of events.
“Once again there has been an incident where the community has been let down, this time by a member of the public. By refusing to testify as to what they had witnessed, all the hard work the SAPS and CCPO members have put into arresting these suspects amounts to nothing and suspects are released to walk free. We are quick to place the blame on SAPS members when we perceive them as not doing their job, but we fail to realise that by us as a community not doing our bit by reporting crime and laying charges, it is no better. In the end we are the ones who are torpedoing their best efforts and then calling for their heads to roll when there are no results.”
According to Richard, what has been clearly exposed over the last few weeks is the lack of a police media / public liaison officer in Toti. “The leadership of the SAPS not only in Toti need to realise that a large percentage of their success hinges around public perception and co-operation. If the public feel they can speak to someone and have their problem dealt with quickly and efficiently , then it is far more likely that crime is going to be reported and the public’s confidence that crime is being addressed will be restored.
By not having someone with authority to respond to questions such as we have had over the last few weeks, the SAPS members on the ground are painted as inefficient and the belief that the job is not being done and corruption abounds is going to be the understanding in the public realm.
From the CCPO who are working with the members on the ground we can honestly say there are many hardworking, honest police men and women out there who have gone out of their way to build up relationships with the security companies and strive to work together. What we need is for SAPS management to support them and to start addressing the relationship between the police and the public from all contact points be it the charge office or the media.”
