Durban - Police Minister Bheki Cele together with Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale and the SAPS led by KwaZulu-Natal provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi met with stakeholders in the uMlazi township to discuss solutions to ongoing violent crime in the area.
The multi stakeholder engagement at the uMlazi cinema on Saturday was attended by community policing structures, traditional and religious leaders, business and youth from the country’s fourth largest township.
Durban mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and newly appointed KZN MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka were also in attendance as well as councillors and representatives from the local liquor sector.
With a population of over one million, uMlazi falls under the uMlazi and Bhekithemba police stations, said a statement on Saturday.
The ministry said the uMlazi community has reported high incidents of serious and violent crime, including murder and rape.
“The proliferation of dangerous weapons, alcohol and drug abuse, poor environmental design; lack of street lights as well as house numbers and inaccessible roads, and a high rate of unemployment have been pointed as some of the main drivers of crime,” it said.
According to the ministry the shortage of police personnel and vehicles has resulted in slow response times, adding that alleged police corruption has been cited by some of the stakeholders, as policing challenges that contribute to slow crime detection and prevention.
Cele said engagements like these ensure that police don’t work in silos.
He said there would be targeted policing operations and improvement of service delivery but also stressed that police stations need to have functional working relationships with the local Community Policing Forums (CPFs) and other structures of the community.
The ministry said the district SAPS have committed to review police resource allocation to better service the township as an immediate response to dwindling crime prevention operations in the area.
Other solutions include:
- The provincial SAPS will urgently revise the procuring of new vehicles and improve overall vehicle maintenance turnaround time to address the slow police response time.
- The local municipality has also committed to addressing the shortage of street lights and lack of street numbers as a long term intervention.
- The installation of CCTV cameras as a crime deterrent, in identified areas is also on the cards.
- The Department of Community Safety and Liaison has committed to better supporting community policing structures such as community patrollers and work closer with the uMlazi community to establish district committees, with the aim to increase law enforcement footprint.
“The Police Ministry believes a close working relationship between police and community policing structures, will translate into safer neighbourhoods where residents play active roles in crime prevention and also understand the importance of not harbouring criminals.”
