By Mziwandile Nkosi

Primary school learners pledged their alliance to a crime-free lifestyle after students were arrested at a high school in Munsieville.

This follows a school search conducted by the South African Police Services (SAPS) partnering with the local community policing forum (CPF).

Twelve students at Thuto Lefa secondary school were arrested for substance abuse and possession of weapons on Thursday.

The police recovered makeshift weapons, knives and dagga from pupils in an operation that spanned over several high schools in the area.

Sector manager, Constable S Malepane, said: "These learners have admitted to having serious problems with drug addiction. Eight learners will be sent to a rehabilitation centre and an ongoing counselling process has been provided for all," Malepane said.

The operation was an introduction during a community safety plan roadshow held at the Munsieville community hall on Friday.

Secretary of the CPF, Dephne Moaisi, challenged the primary school learners to avoid stealing and fighting on and off the school grounds, citing the recent school deaths occurring around the country in recent weeks. "These little things lead to bigger crimes so avoid doing them," she said.

The roadshow, intiated by the Gauteng Department of Community Safety, culminated from discussions with youth organisations, taxi and schools in the area.

The Munsieville safety plan includes:

• Visible patrols in hotspots;
  
  
• Warning residents to stay away from these areas, especially early in the morning;
  
  
• Encouraging the use of the CPF to report crimes of domestic violence and child abuse - the prevalent crimes in the area; and
  
  
• Encourages residents to be particularly vigilant of their children.
  
  
  
  
  • This article was originally published on page 6 of The Star on September 02, 2008

  

  Published on the Web by IOL on 2008-09-02 06:07:00
  

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  © Independent Online 2005. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this article in good faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information it contains.

By Cheryl Goodenough

Significant increases in robbery and hijacking were evident when crime statistics were released by the SA Police Service in June, but KwaZulu-Natal was particularly hard hit.

According to the statistics, business robberies had increased by almost 50 percent in comparison to the previous year's, house robberies by 13,5 percent, car hijackings by 4,4 percent and truck hijackings by nearly 40 percent.

The occurrence of business and house robberies and hijackings, which are known as the trio crimes, is extremely concentrated in a small percentage of police stations around the country. The SAPS said there was a likelihood that car hijackings and particularly house robberies occurred in more affluent suburbs and that business robberies occurred in CBD areas or areas on the periphery of the CBD.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded a 9,1 percent increase in car hijackings

While 75 percent of these crimes occurred in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the increases in KwaZulu-Natal were significantly high.

KwaZulu-Natal recorded a 9,1 percent increase in car hijackings, while the increase in Gauteng was 2,1 percent. With regard to house robberies there was a 5,4 percent decrease in Gauteng and a 30,5 percent increase in KwaZulu-Natal. Business robberies increased by 13,5 percent in Gauteng and 92,9 percent in KwaZulu-Natal.

The successes, albeit small ones, that appeared to have been made in Gauteng have been attributed to initiatives aimed at addressing violent organised crime.

One such initiative is the Anti-Crime Leadership Forum, which consists of ministers, deputy ministers and directors-general of the six government departments making up the justice, crime prevention and security cluster, as well as business leaders.

Established early in 2007, the forum has a number of working groups, one of which focuses on reducing violent organised crime. The others are tasked with mobilising the public, improving the criminal justice system and enhancing performance.

With collective efforts, a 'step change' in crime reduction was achievable

The public-private partnership against crime was reinvigorated through Business Against Crime SA (BACSA), which was formed in 1996 in response to a call by then president Nelson Mandela for business to help the government to deal with crime.

Since then the organisation has worked closely with the government and in August 2006 a group of business representatives known as the Big Business Working Group discussed the high levels of crime and the Step Change initiative was set in motion by President Thabo Mbeki. The Leadership Forum emerged from the Step Change initiative.

BACSA's chief executive officer, Siphiwe Nzimande, said efforts to reduce the incidence of business robberies resulted in a stepped-up level of visible policing, improved crime scene management and investigations by the SAPS, as well as focused priority prosecutions by the National Prosecuting Authority.

Business has also introduced initiatives such as the voluntary vetting of private security personnel and the alignment of various business sectors, such as banking, retail, shopping centres and tourism, to support the police's operational response and the implementation of improved cash and cash-in-transit management systems.

A pilot project implemented in Honeydew to combat residential robberies included the alignment of private security to SAPS operations, setting up a joint operations centre and other specific interventions.

These are to be rolled out to other areas in Gauteng, as well as other provinces, including KwaZulu-Natal.

Nzimande said the successes achieved in Gauteng were reflected in an overall increase in trio crimes of 1,74 percent compared to 38,15 percent for the rest of the country.

This confirmed the validity of the strategy adopted, and demonstrated a promising impact that with collective efforts, a "step change" in crime reduction was achievable, according to Nzimande.

BACSA director Roy Andersen said at a recent business briefing that where business and government concentrated their joint efforts, as had been the case in Gauteng over the past year, a significant impact had been achieved.

Nzimande said BACSA and the Step Change initiative were guided by several principles that identified the government as having the fundamental responsibility to provide a safe and secure environment for citizens, travellers and businesses in South Africa, but that partnerships between the government and business, as well as the government and civil society, were necessary and critical to bring down the unacceptably high levels of crime and violence.

In addition, Nzimande said the business sector was able to make a valuable contribution in supporting government efforts to combat crime and the causes of crime by applying new thinking to identify workable solutions, by sharing and transferring knowledge to implement solutions, and by developing skills and capacity, where invited by the government to do so.

Emphasising this, BACSA chairman Mark Lamberti said at a recent business briefing: "The responsibility for the safety and security of all within the borders of our country is not one that government can delegate or abdicate. But equally, each of us, as individuals or corporations, must play our part."

Appeals

Two horses were stolen from Stormy Hill Horse Trails in Boston during the day on Tuesday August 5.

The thief appeared to know what horses he wanted as two of the best riding horses were taken from 11 in a field. Anyone who comes across the animals can contact the police's stock theft unit.

Successes

A restaurant staff member was recently arrested in a joint operation in Durban for cloning credit cards, according to a statement by Blue Security.

The restaurant owner, who is part of the Florida Road Business Association's security initiative, suspected the staff member was involved in cloning credit cards. He put measures in place to try to arrest her. She was found in possession of a card cloning device and it was established that she had been involved in cloning seven credit cards.

Security guard Bongini Shinga, of ADT, apprehended a suspected thief in Currie Road, Berea, recently. He gave chase after seeing the suspect trying to break into a vehicle.

In another incident, two ADT guards, Cabal Mbongeni and Vusani Mbutho, apprehended a suspect after he robbed two pedestrians on the Rockdale bridge in Westville. The guards chased the man after seeing him snatch the women's belongings and run away.

Tip

Keep your garage and tool shed locked when they are not in use. Would-be intruders should not have access to any item that can be used as a weapon or burglary tool. Also, install outside lights that can be remotely controlled from inside the house or consider installing outside lighting that is activated by a motion detector. - ADT Security

Events

The Hillcrest CPF will meet at the Hillcrest Library Hall at 6pm tonight.

The North Park Neighbourhood Watch in the Northdene/Queensburgh area will hold its monthly meeting at the Northdene Girl Guides' Hall at 7pm tomorrow. For more information telephone Dave at 078 715 0787 or Warren at 084 527 6178.

The Moseley Neighbourhood Watch will meet at the Firwood Sports Club at 6.30pm on Monday.

• This article was originally published on page 12 of The Mercury on August 27, 2008

Published on the Web by IOL on 2008-08-27 05:57:00