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Tuesday 12 February 2013
Extra eyes for crime hotspots
LILLIAN AMOS
TWO Law Enforcement officers will be deployed to assist in decreasing crime in Athlone and Manenberg hotspots. A total of R100 000 from the annual ward allocation budgets will be used to deploy these “neighbourhood security officers”. One will be stationed at Gatesville CBD to supplement police visibility, and another at known crime-ridden sections of Manenberg owing to an alleged lack of patrols. Ward councillor Junade Hoosein accuses Manenberg police of not being active enough on local streets. “They aren’t always around when you need them the most,” Hoosein says. “Criminals take chances but once they see there is someone watching them, they might think twice. We felt we could fulfil more security needs and this is the best route we came up with.” Manenberg police is “useless”, resident Rick Cronje says. “I was robbed here a couple of times already. A friend’s car was stolen three years ago and still hasn’t been found. “If police were around patrolling and doing what they were paid to do, these types of things would never or seldom happen,” he says. Cronje gives the initiative the thumbs up, but believes it will take more than a lone officer to have an impact. But Manenberg police spokesperson Lieutenant Ian Bennett hits back that sector police vehicles are seldom at the station as officers are constantly on patrol. He says on average eight vehicles patrol in Manenberg. “There are two vans for every sector and our crime prevention unit patrols as well.
We cover a wide spectrum of policing – one of those is crime prevention. We have three sectors for Manenberg where we cover schools, public transport junctions and other hotspots at peak hours. “We also get assistance from other Law Enforcement agencies and have a high success rate when it comes to arresting criminals,” Bennett says. Although the police are the main crime fighters, he welcomes any other initiatives to help enhance crime prevention. “We are happy to have any basic law enforcement help us. They act as a deterrent against crimes like robberies and provide a first line of defence.” In Gatesville, an area notorious for petty crime, the security officer will supplement the operations of Athlone police, ward councillor Magadien Davids says. “There is a need for more safety and security in this area. This does not mean police are not doing their jobs; we understand they have a huge task at hand as there is a lot of criminal activity in Athlone. “They can’t be everywhere, every second of everyday. We are merely assisting them and bringing our part to help the fight against crime,” Davids explains. Trader Moosa Chen’s equipment constantly gets stolen from outside his shop. He has owned a store at the Gatesville CBD for more than five years. “I put displays up outside my shop but I have to ask my assistant to guard my merchandise. Old people get robbed here as well. There aren’t enough law enforcement officials patrolling here. We hope the new safety officer will be able to help us keep criminals away,” he says. Dawsar Sarbar, who has been trading at the Gatesville Plaza for over eight years says more security “won’t hurt”. “Police and Metro Police are always around but everybody always needs more security. “The implementation of the security officer is a very good idea and I commend whoever came up with it,” Sarbar says.
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