Criminals should be ostracised and their activities reported to police in respective communities, North West MEC for Human Settlements, Pubic Safety & Liaison, Ms Desbo Mohono said in a speech that called for intensified united action against crime in Mahikeng on Thursday.
MEC Mohono’s speech read on her behalf at the Provincial Justice Crime Prevention and Safety (PJCPS) Cluster Community engagement session also said that no amount of blame game, populism and opportunism will reclaim streets and neighbourhood from heartless criminals except for united action for an onslaught against crime.
MEC Mohono directed that police should regularly update complainants on progress in their investigation of cases they had reported to them.
“Doing so would not be granting anyone an undeserved favour but would be respecting citizens’ constitutional right to administrative justice in line with the principle of democratic, accountable policing and the philosophy of community-centred policing to which the ANC-led government subscribes,” stressed Mohono who said that the war against crime is winnable.
In their inputs, participants most of were members of the Community Policing Forums the Mahikeng, Lichtenburg and Zeerust Cluster identified schools as the hive of crime. They complained about lack of support from police and challenges such as lack of resources for effective policing, delays in responding to distress calls from members of the public, proliferation of drugs at schools and ineffective monitoring of schools by police officials.
In his response, Provincial Deputy Commissioner, Major-General William Mpembe called on Mafikeng residents to report activities of suspected drug dealers to the police for more arrests to be made following on a recent breakthrough in arresting a drug syndicate in Danville.
The Major General said that police are confident that with support and cooperation members of the public, the tide of drugs that destroy many young people would be stamped.
Mpembe said that police have received a list of schools identified by the department of Education as drug trafficking sites and are working on a strategy to pounce on those behind the evil trade .He also called on CPF’s to report taverns that operate beyond regulated time, and those that continue to sell alcohol to under age children.
The community engagement sessions were informed by a general observation that communities lack information with regards to how the criminal justice system works which impacts negatively on service delivery.
Through such endeavors the PJCPS Cluster lead by MEC Mohono’s Public Safety Branch of her department intends to promote cooperation and form partnership between the police and the communities, and among sector departments, civil society at provincial and local levels around crime prevention initiatives.
Communities were empowered on the functioning of the criminal justice system, which includes among others issues of bail, Charter for victims of crime, child justice courts, cases closed as undetected, Sexual offences intervention, school safety, issues of liquor license and others.
As a follow-up to the engagements, Crime prevention programmes such as the Anti-Police Killing Campaign, Anti-Firearm Campaign and destroying the market for stolen goods are to be rolled-out to the broader communities in an effort to mobilise support for crime prevention activism.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Tel: 018 391 0140
Cell: 083 629 1987
Fax: 018381 0328
E-mail : LKgwele@nwpg.gov.za
