Cape Town - The decrease in the number of officers allocated to police stations in De Doorns has led to residents starting a petition seeking more policing after an increase in criminal activity around the neighbourhood.
Residents in the Hex River Valley and Stofland area said the area had become more unsafe by the day, and residents fear that the same incidence of violent clashes that occurred in Robertson among farm workers, will occur in the area if police do not up their surveillance.
Resident Shaun Andrew said that all types of crime were rife in the area, and even though officers may want to do their jobs and respond to crime, their numbers, vehicles and capacity didn’t not allow it.
“All types of crime are rife in the Hex River valley. From violent murders, assault, stabbings, armed robberies of businesses, residential property persons and cash in transit. Somalian shops are also a target for robbers who mostly wear balaclavas.
“Further crimes are damaging to essential infrastructure, cable theft, sale of drugs, illegal immigration, illegal land occupation, operation of shebeens and sale of liquor, hawking, and operation of taxis that leads to taxi violence.
“People flock to the Hex River Valley to work on the table grape farms and the lack of police presence makes things hard for the workers.
“The biggest crime is the rate at which addiction is increasing due to the lack of police (to help) the fight against drugs, solving of cases and making arrests.
“Young South Africans are forced to ‘skarrel’ in bins, collecting cans and bottles, pieces of copper and metal to maintain their drug habit. The youth are strongly influenced by the number gangs and their way of living.
“Currently the police cannot respond to the crimes due to the (small) number of police in the area, the non-response to crime in the area, the number of unsolved cases and the visibility of on-duty police.
“Although officers may want to do their jobs and respond to crime, their numbers, vehicles, capacity, do not allow it. Now, they just leisurely drive past crime scenes while it is occurring,” said Andrew.
Petitioner Donale Links added that more visible policing, would mean that there would be a quicker reaction time.
“With more policing in the area, it would mean that there would be quicker reaction time which I (currently) estimate at 25 to 30 minutes. It would also make the getaway time for criminals smaller.
“Police must ideally be within three to four minutes away from potential crime scenes, especially hotspot areas like the Stofland bridge during weekends, the soccer field right next to the N1 and also the open space right in front of Ghost Town.
“We also believe more police would mean more arrests, because they'd have more resources to fight crime more adequately and decisively. Known drug houses should also be consistently targeted(within the law) by police, because drugs have a direct effect on crime within any given area,” said Links.
De Doorns CPF chairman, Mpumelelo Lobisi, said the challenge lay with the small number of officers the station currently had, as well as with those officers not willing to go the extra mile.
“Currently, the De Doorns police station is a half-colonel station and we’ve witnessed how the officers that are there, are just there for the wages. They aren’t willing to work.
“The community is currently on the brink of challenges that are slowly but surely spiralling out of control. The challenge with our policing is definently a cause for concern. Hence, we’ve talked about this several times and it is part of our agenda to get more police officers so that they can actually work and be present,” said Lobisi.
Provincial police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said that the petition never reached the office of the station commander of the local SAPS office.
“The station commander confirmed that he has an open-door policy for community members to engage and raise their concerns and they are even encouraged to voice their concern via the community policing forum.
“This office would advise the community set up an appointment with the station management at De Doorns SAPS. It is during these interactions that they have the opportunity to address their concerns with the management in an orderly manner, and discuss interventions to pave the way for the future.
“As community members, it is to their advantage to be in contact with their sector commander/s as often as possible, as they are his/her eyes and ears in the community.
“The police service are always willing to engage in partnership policing, hence the advice to communicate with the relevant management. The community can also join neighbourhood watches, street committees and the Community Policing Forum to get involved in stamping out crime in the community,” said Swartbooi.
Weekend Argus