‘We will not rest until the streets are safe’
Strategies rolled out to make CoJ safer
“We will not rest until the streets of Johannesburg are safe,” said the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Public Safety, councillor Michael Sun.
“After the annual crime statistics were released by the police last week, it was reported that the Johannesburg Central Police Station deals with the second highest number of cases reported in Gauteng, with a staggering 13 044 cases reported for the 2016/ 17 financial year,” the MMC said.
He added that, out of the 30 most crime-ridden areas in the country, six of them were situated within the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). These areas are:
• Johannesburg Central, with 13 044 reported crimes – a one per cent increase from the previous year,
• Honeydew, with 10 965 reported crimes – a 1,5 per cent decrease from the previous year,
• Hillbrow, with 9 522 reported crimes – a 1,9 per cent decrease from the previous year,
• Sandton, with 8 368 reported crimes – a 2,9 per cent decrease from the previous year,
• Midrand, with 8 097 reported crimes – a 15 per cent increase from the previous year,
• Roodepoort, with 6 923 reported crimes – a 1,7 per cent decrease from the previous year.
“Most of these areas showed a decline in reported crimes. The Department of Public Safety has already begun to analyse the statistics in an effort to counter the reported increase in crime for the Midrand and Central Johannesburg areas,” the MMC said.
Creating a safe city for the residents of Johannesburg is one of Mayor Herman Mashaba’s top priorities, and the City’s Department of Public Safety has been making steady progress in crime reduction.
Not only did the Department recruit an additional 1 500 Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Deparment (JMPD) trainees, but it will also be rolling out innovative strategies to fight crime, including the design and launch of the Smart City–Safe City projects; intensifying and upgrading the K9 unit’s function; establishing more Quick-Attack units focusing on business and residential robberies, and syndicated crimes; taking a tougher stance on lawlessness on the roads and by-law contraventions, and implementing community-based prevention projects aimed at reducing crime and gender-based violence.
The new JMPD recruits have already started with their training at the JMPD Academy, and the MMC said, “We are eager to see the new JMPD recruits complete their training and join in the fight against crime in the City.
We will also ensure that we step up our game in various other areas of public safety, such as by-law enforcement and traffic management.”
He concluded by saying, “We need to understand that crime statistics are not just numbers. They represent actual incidents involving real-life victims, and although we are seeing positive results stemming from the combined efforts of JMPD, the police, other law-enforcement agencies and very importantly, the involvement of community members in the reduction of reported crimes, the work of driving criminals out of our City is far from over.”
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