Bluff pioneers crime reaction unit
2013/10/09 DURBAN cop members from left is Rahe Jeeves, Adrian Van wek, Mike Jansen, Pieter Barward, Tom Scullard, Bryn Schwegrnan, Dhaun Vewter. PICTURE: SIYANDA MAYEZA 2013/10/09 DURBAN cop members from left is Rahe Jeeves, Adrian Van wek, Mike Jansen, Pieter Barward, Tom Scullard, Bryn Schwegrnan, Dhaun Vewter. PICTURE: SIYANDA MAYEZA
Durban - Bluff residents are preparing to battle the “extremely violent” criminals plaguing their suburb with an “elite” armed patrol that includes members with police and military backgrounds.
Their local Community Oriented Policing (COP) organisation said the armed team of nine volunteers would soon be patrolling on motorcycles.
But the number could be boosted to about 30 by the end of the year, said COP founder Rake Jeeves, a former military man. He said his organisation had 40 to 50 active local volunteers and most were former SAPS and SANDF members.
He said it was a non-profit community initiative to fight crime, but it might be privatised in the future.
The motorcycle unit was introduced about two months ago and the “elite” unit, called the Community Crime Prevention Unit (CCPU), will be effective in about three weeks.
Volunteers had provided some of the motorcycles.
“The CCPU members are getting trained to the highest standard that any crime fighter can get to,” said Jeeves.
“Their advanced firearm training includes side arms, shotguns and assault rifles. The other training will include house penetration, hand-to- hand combat and so on. Unit members will be able to deal with just about any situation.”
Jeeves is confident that the strategy will keep criminals at bay. He said the unit would come face-to-face with criminals in any circumstances; therefore to join one had to have extensive police, military or specialised experience.
“Some of the criminals are extremely violent and don’t think twice to kill people, so yes, we will not just match them, our members will be trained enough and armed well enough to beat them,” he said.
“Like they say, if you take a popgun to a firefight you will lose, so our members will have the firepower to defend or defeat the enemy of our country - and that is the criminals.”
The organisation also has a scholar patrol, a neighbourhood patrol team, as well as reaction, bush patrol, and road accident units that can respond to incidents.
Said Jeeves of the crack motorcycle squad: “Motorbikes are for speed and to get into places where cars can’t go. They are much faster and can take short cuts. Criminals manage to escape more often than not,” he said. “Six guys on bikes wearing a full uniform would scare the criminals.”
Jeeves said patrols were conducted mostly during the day when the volunteers were available, but they also patrol at night, especially around back roads and local parks.
“We keep instilling the safety aspect into our members and teach them to call the SAPS if they are unsure about a situation, but many of our members are ex-SAPS or military. We have bullet-proof vests.”
He said the strategy was being copied at Hibberdene where three community police forum (CPF) members were shot earlier this month, one fatally, by a suspect they had tried to apprehend.
Provincial police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker said one of the men, Sandile Mnguni, 23, was killed when he attempted to arrest a known criminal. The suspect opened fire and fled.
The SAPS said a 22-year-old man had been arrested last week and charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder. He appeared in the Hibberdene Magistrate’s Court on October 17.
Jeeves said the relationship and support they had from the local police was the reason crime had decreased on the Bluff.
However, Naicker said the police management was concerned that when confronted, criminals tended to shoot.
“We urge the public not to confront armed criminals, but to contact the police immediately,” he said.
Daily News