Lieutenant Colonel Mankontsho Setlhare is not the type of man to wait around for the phone to ring.
As the new station commander at Muldersdrift Police Station, he looks forward to working with the community and visiting its problem areas. Although the farming area of Muldersdrift is different to the mining terrain of his previous position as station commander of Wedela, Setlhare has had his finger on the pulse since his first day on 15 May.
He said the biggest challenges in the area are the high rates of house robberies, cases of motor gate theft and the theft of spare tyres, specifically Toyota Fortuners. Measures to combat such activities have been put in place, such as increased patrols, stop and searches, as well as creating awareness of these crimes in the community.
Setlhare can report that he has already seen a decrease in house robberies since these measures were put in place. He added the station has closed down five illegal shebeens to bring down contact crimes.
“Since I joined the police, I have always been involved in operations and it took me a long time to adjust to administrative work. I try to go out as much as I can because sitting in an office is not going to bring crime down,” Setlhare said.
He has already met some members of the community and received their wel-wishes. He encourages the community to talk and interact with him and the station as he wishes only to strengthen the relationship between the station and the community.
ALSO READ: New police recruits to focus on farm murders
