More police for the Outer West
Whoonga blamed for crime
POLICE have vowed to allocate more resources into Durban’s Outer West suburbs to stem a crime surge that has left three people dead, scores injured and hundreds of families counting the costs of home invasions and burglaries.
Provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Mmamonnye Ngobeni, said extra police vehicles would be assigned to the Outer West policing precinct and more manpower would be put on the ground to drive out the criminals.
Ngobeni was addressing almost 1 000 people – concerned residents, businesses, Neighbourhood Watch and ratepayer organisations, traditional leaders and members of the provincial government – who filled City Hill Church in Hillcrest yesterday for a summit aimed at finding solutions to the crime wave.
“We have deployed visible policing to the area as well as tactical response team members, 15 extra detectives and members of the Hawks and (crime) intelligence to deal with the situation,” Ngobeni said.
“There are other plans to improve policing and resources in the community.”
The summit, led by Premier Zweli Mkhize, brought together the various communities of the Outer West including Hillcrest, Kloof, Molweni, Embo, Swayimane and KwaNyuswa.
The areas have been plagued by crime committed by gangs armed with pangas and high on whoonga.
Residents were given an opportunity to address Mkhize and his executive and shared – despite their varied backgrounds – similar concerns about why the crime rate had spiralled. They said police apathy was high and there were too few police officers on the ground.
The residents blamed the rampant abuse of whoonga, a highly addictive drug comprising a cocktail of low-grade heroin and other substances mixed with dagga.
Monica Bruun of the Hillcrest Community Police Forum (CPF) said that in the past 10 years the Upper Highway community had had a population boom, but the police had not added resources to counter the increase in numbers.
“We are battling for satellite stations in our area. Our area is exploding with people, but (we have the) same manpower and resources. Please help us,” she pleaded.
Gavin Eaton, of the West Riding Neighbourhood Watch that covers an area bordering Embo and Molweni, said the community had teamed up with private security companies to deal with crime because they often responded quicker than the police.
“These whoonga houses need to be eradicated,” he said. “We can blame the poverty and moral decay, but the violence comes from whoonga.”
Phumlani Sibisi, chairman of the KwaNqetho CPF, agreed.
“Whoonga is a big problem. The whoonga boys steal and when we catch them and phone the police station, we are told phone 10111.
“We are left standing there with criminals for hours,” he said.
Sifiso Mhlophe of the Embo CPF said people feared joining the policing forums for fear of being labelled “spies”.
“I have been a target for being an impimpi for the police,” he said.
“I have been robbed, hijacked, my home has been broken into 12 times.
“The police are slow to deal with crime. We can sometimes wait five hours for them to respond. And even when there are arrests, the courts fail us,” Mhlophe said.
Mkhize lauded the community for coming together yesterday and said the provincial government would meet the national police to find lasting solutions to the crime problems.