Dlaminin community patrols for safety of locals

Due to the rapid rise of crime in the community of Dlamini, Inkaba Yam Ise Dlamini started their own patrolling system that is not working with the SAPS.

Patrollers shield their community from a lot of criminal activities in hopes of making sure that residents live without fear.

The patrolling system is about more than apprehending active offenders.

It’s about creating a sense of security, preventing crime, and identifying and solving community problems that go unnoticed without patrol.

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Dumisani Dlamini, leader of Inkaba Yam Ise Dlamini organisation said, “Our patrolling system works as a joint venture with a security cluster in a form of an armed response. When we need to retaliate and call for back up when we are dealing with more violent criminals at night, they become our back up.”

Crime tends to disproportionately affect people from poor communities and those who have committed crime will likely suffer from causes of social breakdown, including poor literacy rates, unemployment and drug abuse.

It’s been three months since they started patrolling and preventing crime in their community and according to residents change is visible from since they started.

Mzwandile Nhlapo, one of the residents said, “There is a huge difference because our township is filled with a lot break ins at night and cars that rob people of their phones.

“So, because of this patrolling system, crime has dropped drastically and it proves that they are pushing for a safer environment.”

Because of their visible work in terms of eliminating crime activities in their community, the patrollers have been hired to be security guards at Ibhongo High School as the school is undergoing renovations.

“There is a project of building new classes at the school and the contractor hired us to guard his materials because they were being stolen. The school was also affected as criminals were vandalising furnisher,” said Dlamini.

According to Dlamini, this patrolling programme was not only implemented to eliminate criminal activities but also to create future employment for these patrollers. These residents will be trained and deployed to work as security guards.

“The programme is on a pilot where we will take our patrollers and train them because we want them to be progressive and developed,” said Dlamini.

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“They will not remain as patrollers but will end up having certificates that will enable them to work for security companies and then help them with drivers’ licence.”

In hopes of completely lowering the high rate of crime and drug activities, Inkaba Yam Ise Dlamini seeks to create a gate that will prevent criminals from surrounding areas from coming in at night to practice crime within their community.

“The bigger vision is that we want to barricade our township.

“We want Dlamini to be a gated community where we monitor who comes in and out during the late hours. In that way we are going to limit a lot of outside crime activities,” Dlamini concluded.