In an attempt to root out crime around Langa members of the local police station and the Old Flats neighbourhood watch recently held a crime prevention awareness campaign.
The plan was to warn and educate the community about their rights.
As part of the initiative, members walked around the Old Flats Hostels to the Langa Taxi rank distributing pamphlets with crucial crime information.
Khuthala Nyangiwe, Old Flats neighborhood watch chair, said the objective is to interact with the community. She urged them to report any wrongdoing to the police. “In Langa we have a challenge of gangsterism, substance and alcohol abuse, house breaking, robbery and gender-based violence (GBV). Also there is an extortion of businesses which is growing, targeting foreign business people,” said Nyangiwe.
She stated that as neighbourhood watch members their job is to be the eyes and ears of the police. “We don’t manhandle people. Our job is to inform the police about anything wrong that is happening in the community,” she stated.
Langa police station spokesperson Capt Nondumiso Paul described the initiative as educational. She said, in part, the campaign hopes to revive community confidence in police.
Paul reiterated Nyangiwe’s sentiments that crime is common in the community. “We encourage people not to take the law into their own hands. Also, we are pleading with people to report any form of crime including extortion to the police,” said Paul.
A street vendor who only identified himself as Lovemore, from Zimbabwe, had mixed feelings about the campaign.
“This is a great initiative, but we are not sure about our safety when we report to the police. You can report someone who wants extortion from you. But what if the police inform the culprits. What will happen to my life?” he asked.
Lovemore said he is lucky no one came to his business to demand money but he knows people who have already been affected.