New take on Jozi’s crime

Research task team established to develop a strategy to end state of lawlessness in the city

THE Joburg metro police department has established a research task team to develop a crime-fighting strategy it hopes will cut crime by 10% within six months.

Last week, the national crime statistics revealed that some parts of Joburg such as Jeppe, Hillbrow and other inner-city areas are among the deadliest precincts in South Africa.

This week police chief David Tembe bemoaned the lawlessness in the city. “It cannot be that a city like Joburg is so exposed to crime.”

The task team, he said, was composed of policing experts who would observe crime trends, develop measures to respond to crime and determine the allocation of resources.

“We can’t continue as normal. We need to have some sort of intelligence on how we approach the crime situation in the city. We should not be reactionary in our approach. We can reduce crime by 10% in six months if we allocate resources correctly.

“This is our target. When the next crime statistics are released, Joburg should be a changed city.”

Tembe had just returned from a memorial service for slain police officer Josphat Neludani, who was shot while off duty with his service pistol in Hillbrow last week.

“If criminals can kill an officer so casually, what about an ordinary citizen?” he asked. “It is outrageous. We have to reclaim the city back from criminals and we are going to use all our might to ensure that Joburg is safe.”

The police department had implemented immediate measures such as block patrols to suppress crime in the inner-city and surrounding suburbs, he said.

“We must be seen (in) every corner of the city. These are some of the most basic things that does not require research.”

The department would implement zonal policing and establish other specialised units when it was allocated a larger slice of the budget in the next financial year “in an effort to bring policing closer to the people”.

Before his appointment this year, he said the morale of officers was low as they were under-resourced and without leadership. “We had very junior people in positions of power. The department was dysfunctional.

“We used to have a total of 1 600 metro police. Joburg is huge. This number is just a drop in the ocean. These are some of the issues that need urgent attention.”

The city hoped to employ an additional 1 500 officers in July next year. Recently, about 200 traffic officers took to the city’s streets. “These are officers with powers to arrest. We are serious about restoring the rule of law.”

He lamented how the lack of synergy between law enforcement agencies compromised crime-fighting efforts. Too often the efforts of the department, which arrested wanted criminals in roadblocks and other police operations, were dealt a blow as the suspects were released without reasons being provided. At times, police were reluctant to apprehend suspects.

Tembe said the metro police would now have a dedicated tracking unit to follow-up on withdrawn cases. The crime statistics revealed that drunk driving was the single biggest violation in Joburg. In the financial year under review, the department arrested 7 283 people for drunk driving. In the previous year, there were 8 803 arrests.

“The police must do their work, process cases and the National Prosecuting Authority must also prosecute. If cases are withdrawn, we will now request reasons, otherwise we are fighting a losing battle.”