Lack of policing blamed for Jeppe crime woes
A FORMER crime prevention forum member has put the blame for the rate of crime in Jeppestown squarely on the police.
This week, Police Minister Bheki Cele released the country’s crimes statistics, lamenting South Africa was like a war zone.
The national murder rate was up 6.9% on last year. There were 20 336 murders compared with 19 016 in the year before. Jeppestown leads the pack in terms of murders in Joburg. It was also in the country’s top 30 murder precincts.
Malibongwe Sithole, a former member of the Jeppe Sector 1 Crime Forum has no doubt of the reason.
“Police in this area are not willing to do their job. There is no effort,” he told the Saturday Star. “Most are criminals themselves. The effort of a few good ones does not matter because the majority are corrupt. The community is desperate.”
Sithole, who sits on the Kwa Mai Mai market committee, questioned why the neighbouring Maboneng Precinct was well policed but not the rest of Jeppestown.
“Police don’t want to confront their friends, the criminals. When you call them to attend to crime scenes, they don’t arrive on time.”
Jeppestown recorded 124 murders in the year under review, an increase of about 40% on the previous year, which recorded 88 murders.
Joburg CBD recorded 91 murders while Hillbrow accounted for 98.
The hostels are largely occupied by migrants all seeking a better life in Joburg.
“They live in fear of being robbed or being killed at any time by vultures in this area,” said Sithole.
He also linked the rising crime rate to the unemployment in the area.
Jeppe Police spokesperson Captain Richard Munyai dismissed any suggestions that police were either complicit in crime or unwilling to do their jobs.
“If residents have information about corruption, they are always welcome to report the matter at the police station,” he said
Munyai said police were deployed across all the crime hot spots in the area and that all patrol vehicles were fitted with tracking devices to ensure police did not leave their patrol areas.
He added the police were working with the local crime prevention forums. “I am surprised somebody can suggest that police are not visible. We meet on the first Thursday every month with CPF members to discuss ways to improve policing.”
Munyai said the office of the community policing forum chairperson was based at Jeppe police station to attend to grievances from the public.
He added informal settlements and alcohol outlets contributed immensely to murder and general crime.