In an effort to improve service delivery and increase visibility, Khayelitsha police took their services to Site C Plaza on Saturday 14 May.
The programme was an initiative by the police in partnership with the local Community Policing Forum (CPF).
It was designed to bring services closer to the people.
On the day officers certified documents, updated residents on their cases and distributed pamphlets about gender-based violence (GBV). Police also used the day to recruit new neighbourhood watch members.
Brig Mnonopheli Magobiyane, Khayelitsha Police Station Commander, said they would like to expand programme in future to include other government departments such as Social Developement and Home Affairs.
“We know people of this area have to take a taxi to get to our station, but today we decided to bring our services closer. As police we have the mandate as set out in our Constitution and today we are ensuring that we do our part of service delivery to the community we serve,” he said.
Magobiyane encouraged residents to continue reporting crime, saying this is the only way for police to deal with it. He also called on residents to report officers who are involved in criminal activities.
CPF secretary Phindile George said such initiatives ensured police get first hand information from the community in terms of the challenges they face in dealing with the police.
“This was also an opportunity to re-connect Saps with the community to mend the trust relationship between police and the community,” said George.
According to him, strengthening of the relations will take sometime including dialogue and more programmes.
“The programme was a great success as community members came through for the services but the station will evaluate if it is needed again and when to bring another similar session maybe with other sister departments such as Home Affairs, Social Development,” George concluded.