Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Elsies, Bishop Lavis cut down on crime
THE CITY’S law enforcement officials have promised a continuous crackdown on crime in Elsies River and Bishop Lavis.
There is a renewed focus on these areas following the killings of 15 people in the last three weeks.
The Weekend Argus joined metro police officers, members of the SAPS as well as the law enforcement’s social housing unit on a blitz operation on Thursday night.
Metro police officer Natasha Jamaar who’s been in the service for 10 years and was in the national police force for another 10 before that, led the operation, along with Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith.
Jamaar said she and her team did not “fear or favour any criminals” in the area.
The operation included more than 15 random stop-andfrisks.
This particular operation was conducted by the directorate’s social housing unit, which was accompanied by five reporters, including the Weekend Argus, on a cold Thursday night.
Our first stop was Milner Court in Leonsdale, a section of Elsies River considered by many to be the most dangerous.
There police came across a tik lolly and dagga in a rental-stock unit where a woman was living with her children and a dog.
Jamaar issued her with a fine and warned her that dogs and drugs were not allowed.
“We will file a report to the City, detailing what we’ve found here,” Ja,aar said.
“The family has broken two rules.” She added that a decision on whether to evict the family would be made in due course.
As the team exited the flat, Smith quietly snuck into a marked vehicle to take a phone call from a local informant who alerted him to marijuana and guns in an illegal structure between Milner and Rose Courts.
The intel said there were guns and marijuana in hidden compartments in the shack.
The police only found dagga. The quantity was enough to warrant an arrest, cops on the scene said.
Smith said that the police and law enforcement agencies were working closely together – “now more than ever before”.
“We will not sit back and watch as gun violence continues in Elsies River and Bishop Lavis,” he said.
Smith was full of praise for the team’s efforts as the operation concluded late on Thursday.