Counterfeit and expired goods valued at approximately R3 million, and numerous lawless individuals in the inner CBDs of Florida and Roodepoort, were dealt with by various law enforcement agencies on Monday, 4 February.
These two towns were painted in blue, grey and orange during a massive joint crime prevention operation by the Johannesburg West Cluster, which is made up of several police stations, the Gauteng Traffic Department and the Gauteng Department of Community Safety’s patrollers.
Prior to the operation, the deputy cluster commander, Brigadier Mashadi Selepe, who led the successful raid, provided insight into the purpose of the joint operation. “We decided to respond to the needs of the community that reflected in our crime pattern analysis. Since most of our operations are focused on residential set-ups and see us forget the inner city, we decided to focus on the inner city, where muggings and other crimes are a concern,” she explained.
As a result, she disclosed that over 1 000 individuals were searched, and those with illegal substances such as drugs and dagga, and dangerous weapons, were arrested. Mashadi added that the operation also involved the Gauteng Traffic Police tackling issues related to by-laws, and the City of Johannesburg Health Inspectorate, who looked at various health issues. Their involvement led to the confiscation of tons of goods such as cool drinks and other edible items, some of which were expired, with others being fakes and many which were stored in non-conducive environments.
The Gauteng Department of Community Safety’s patrollers played a huge role, not only in combating crime but also in loading the confiscated goods into the heavily laden JMPD vehicles that made several trips to cart the goods away.
According to Thabo Thibe, the Gauteng Community Safety Community Police Relations (CPR) coordinator, the Department deployed 130 patrollers who hailed from different police stations in the province. He added that these volunteers are ordinarily paid a stipend when they embark on various programmes.
Speaking about their function, he said, “The Department of Community Safety is the custodian of community patrollers in the province. The patrollers normally volunteer from various police stations and assist in raids, stop-and-search operations and any type of crime prevention”.
As they function without any weapons, Thibe said they are solely reliant on the police for protection. “Half of the time, they are not allowed to work alone. When they go out to conduct duties, police officers are always present, and they are told not to go into areas that are unsafe,” he explained.
Mashadi confirmed what Thibe said about police presence during operations; however, she also said that the patrollers are taught self-defence mechanisms to protect themselves during hostile situations. “To defend yourself does not necessarily include carrying a firearm,” she said. “They have been trained in various aspects of self-defence,” she concluded.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
