‘Mini’ police bases at great places will help fight crime
High-ranking police and political figures have been visiting the great places of Eastern Cape monarchs to roll out the muchanticipated Traditional Policing Concept pilot programme, aimed at fighting crime in remote rural areas.
It is hoped that, in so doing, the dignity of traditional leaders and their respective institutions will be boosted.
Police minister Bheki Cele launched the programme at AmaXhosa King Mpendulo Sigcawu's Nqadu Great Place near Willowvale on December 7.
Kings have raised concerns that police stations in rural areas are overstretched, and affected residents have to pay exorbitant transport fees to report crimes at police stations up to 100km away.
The monarchs believe the project will be the answer.
They say lack of police visibility within rural areas meant that some villagers take the law into their their own hands.
Since the launch, safety & liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana and provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga visited the kings’ and queens' great places
(Amakomkhulu) as part of the programme roll-out.
This week they were at Western Mpondoland's King Ndamase Ndamase's Nyandendeni Great Place near Libode.
The programme is being piloted in the Eastern Cape for six months. It has already been rolled out at four kings’ great places – Nqadu in Willowvale, Mngqesha in King William's Town, Bumbane in Mthatha and Nyandeni in Libode.
It will be rolled out to King Siyambonga Matanzima's Qamata Great Place in Cofimvaba on Friday (March 1) followed by AmaMpondo AseQawukeni at a date yet to be confirmed.
“We do not want a situation where crimes are not reported because of inaccessible police service. We want safer villages, which will increase the public’s trust in the police,” Ntshinga said .
“The project provides human and material resources to kingdoms in an effort to combat crime in rural areas,” she said.
Each kingdom will receive a 24-hour police service point staffed with four police officers (two per shift), a mobile police station, a service centre and two police patrol vans to serve the king's area. There will also be a victim support room at each facility. The police will provide security for each great place.
Reservists will be sourced from local communities, while community members will also be identified to receive training in crime-fighting techniques. Others will be equipped to care for victims.
Kings and queens are providing infrastructure for the centres, which serve as “mini” police stations and as accommodation for police officers.
Police in crime-riddled but congested towns like Mthatha will be provided with motorbikes, and those working in rural areas with poor and inaccessible roads, will be given horses and motorbikes to fight crime.
This was revealed by Eastern Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga in Mthatha on Tuesday. She was addressing journalists on the sidelines of the first day of a three-day provincial moral regeneration movement (MRM) strategic planning and policy conference at Dan’s Country Lodge.
She said the Madeira police station precinct in the heart of Mthatha had one of the highest crime rates, but the challenge was that streets were congested, making it difficult for police to do their job properly.
In some other rural towns, it was difficult to access some villages as there were no road networks.
Earlier, provincial liaison and safety head of department Zukile Kani revealed that according to crime statistics for the 2017 financial year, Mthatha was rated No 1 in stock-theft, cash-intransit (CIT) heists cases, murders and sexual offences in the province.
The area was also rated number one in the country when it came to stock-theft, eighth for CIT heists and fifth for sexual offences.
“We are also faced with a challenge of gangsterism which is now creeping up in villages. And with it comes murders via turf wars, drugs and alcohol,” he said.
MRM’s provincial chair Nkosi Ngangomhlaba Matanzima said the moral regeneration programme was revived in the province in 2016 after discussions with Premier Phumulo Masualle.
He said the province was facing demons like corruption, murder and rape and a wellcrafted policy on moral regeneration could be the right tonic needed to fight those difficult problems.
Ntshinga had also revealed a switch in the way policing would now be done in the Eastern Cape.
She said police were targeting young people in a good way.
She said among their programmes, they were running a junior commissioner project where youths as young as 12 were being recruited to become eventual provincial commissioners and deputies.
Police had also started horse clubs in other parts of the province for young children to enjoy riding.