Joint efforts needed to fight crime
Passionate new district head shares plans
The new South African Police Services’ Chris Hani district commissioner rates Mlungisi as a hotspot for contact crimes.
Meanwhile, the top crime hotspot areas in the district are Ngcobo, Cofimvaba, Tsomo, Cacadu, Cala and Cradock.
The district commissioner, MajorGeneral Rudolph Adolph, said in a recent media briefing he would be taking a more community-centred approach to dealing with crime in the Chris Hani district.
Adolph has filled the shoes of General Funeka Siganga.
He will manage 29 police stations, along with the flying squad, stock theft, Pops, K9 and family and child protection units.
The senior manager, who has served in the SAPS for more than 31 years, said it had always been his dream to be a police officer.
“Policing is a career I always wanted to pursue. I was only a teenager when I joined in January 1991.
“It was my first job and it will be my last.
“I was born a police officer. I have 10 years left, which means I can still achieve what I’ve set out to accomplish,” Adolph said.
Though there was a decrease in crime in the first quarter according to statistics, he said there was a gradual increase in contact crimes from June to date.
“Serious and violent crimes have spiked, but the kidnappings are what stood out for me on my arrival.”
To fight criminal activity in these hotspot areas, Adolph said he would embark on Operation Sikhona, which was introduced by the provincial commissioner. He said lawlessness needed to be stabilised by channelling resources, which were a challenge.
He plans to counteract this through an integrated approach by working with private security companies and farmers’ associations.
“Mlungisi is currently the main hotspot for contact crimes,” he said.
“Recently we had a lot of activities in the township to stabilise the area.
“We still need to assess if the crime has quietened down since we started.
“When we identify and remove crime generators and those contributing, crime will disappear.”
This, he said, included confiscating firearms and drugs and closing alcohol outlets that were operating unlawfully.
He also plans to drastically reduce the murder rate, which is especially high in rural areas, by incorporating traditional policing through working closely with traditional leaders.
“We will look at establishing village committees in line with our community in blue. The idea is to have community patrollers in the villages which will be controlled by SAPS sector managers with the support of community policing forums.
“We also have two mobile police stations for Cofimvaba and one for Cacadu which will be introduced soon.
“It will take policing services closer to those villages.”
He said crime was a challenge in schools, and the more effective plan was to focus more on primary schools through campaigns.
An all-hands-on-deck approach, he said, would involve the education and social development departments, as well as moral regeneration movement.
Meanwhile, former Queenstown cluster Vispol commander, Colonel Loyiso Ngalo, was promoted to the rank of Brigadier.
He has assumed the position of station commander of Motherwell in the Nelson Mandela Bay district.