Standing committee impressed by JOC
Members of the Western Cape provincial parliament Standing Committee on Community Safety concluded their visit to the Garden Route of Friday, 30 September, with a walkthrough of the Joint Operation Centre in Mossel Bay.
The centre is a security and surveillance hub - the result of the partnership of public and private entities - based at the Mossel Bay Golf Course.
The committee visited various centres in the police cluster as part of its oversight tour.
“We included the visit to Mossel Bay because we see this centre as one of the great innovations in the Western Cape, because it allows for a collaborative approach to address community safety in the region,” said chairman of the standing committee, Gillion Bosman.
He mentioned that the committee had identified four police stations, the KwaNonqaba Police Station among them, that are on the agenda for urgent discussion.
This feedback was welcomed by the Mossel Bay Municipality, which has availed land in
KwaNonqaba for the construction of a new police station.
High level discussions are under way because the Mossel Bay JOC has been earmarked for further collaboration with other centres.
“Mossel Bay’s story of success is about collaboration. Everyone has bought it and that’s the bonus for community service. If we can do it, so can the rest of the country,” said Councillor Anton Dellemijn, standing in for the portfolio chairman of Community Safety, Councillor Leon van Dyk.
Concluding the visit, Bosman said the committee was truly impressed with the innovation at the JOC.
“Our congratulations go to Mayor Dirk Kotzé for this effort. Community safety is a national priority, yet our national government doesn’t take it as seriously as this municipality.
“What we are seeing here is the importance of decentralising the police force and the devolution of power to create a rapid response to crime.”