REPORTS (9 June 2009)

Report from Station Commissioner and his management.

Resources were adequate and additional vehicles and additional manpower and resources could only be expected closer to the Confederations Cup and 2010 World Cup.
Supt Moichela reported that as there were no tourism hotspots or resorts in the area such as Hotels, Park & Rides etc, he did not expect an inflow of “visitors” to our area. Security measures would however be tightened to cover any overflow or displacement of criminal elements from adjacent areas.

Challenges included empty houses and rental properties that were over populated, specifically in the Lewisham area where house breaking had increased by 200% and opportunistic crimes were evident. Properties had been identified and were under surveillance.

Report from Metro

Andrew Miller (JMPD Region 4) reported that roadblocks were delivering the desired results. Missing number plates, licence disks and speedsters were being regarded as serious offences and culprits were being charged.

Common Offences:
Not displaying number plate - fines had increased to R 1000.
No plates and licence disk – immediate arrest.
Blue LED head lights were also on the increase and would be dealt with.

Melville Kopje and the Beyers Naude/ Judith Road intersection had experienced a huge increase in Smash & Grab incidents and is receiving special attention.
Periods between 19h00 and 20h00 and 23h00 to 24h00 were the most dangerous as well as very early morning when streets are deserted. A new board had been requested to replace the missing one and the fence was undergoing repairs yet again.

Street vendors were a continuous problem as they were regarded as the major culprits of smash & grab incidents on the N1 and Beyers Naude Drive and 14th Avenue highway on- ramps.
The hawkers frequenting the corner of 14th Avenue and Beyer’s Naude continue to be a major challenge, but the JMPD will increase their vigilance in this regard and take the necessary action.

The system is onerous as follows:

Issue an Admin notice – Warning to illegal vendor.
On repeating the offence, each culprit must be identified and an instruction notice issued.
SAPS officers are then able to arrest the offenders, charge them and they are released from custody to continue hawking.

The process is repeated without final conclusion and was considered unacceptable.
An large number of vendors – in excess of 15 were counted at the Malibongwe intersection alone.

A JMPD member was shot in Roodepoort during a suspicious person response call. Joint operations between SAPS, the flying squad and JMPD were regular occurrences and members were reminded to call for back-up immediately on receiving such calls to ensure support by experienced fully trained field officers.

Report from Johannesburg Central Cluster / CPF Provincial Board

No meetings have taken place during the last month of the CPF Cluster and Dr Karim was unfortunately not available due to work demands to provide an update.
Theft out of Motor vehicles had increased by 6 incidents and hijackings and house robberies were registered as part of the same crime incident report. Supt Moichela appealed to residents to desist from leaving vehicles outside, removing laptops and valuables from vehicle interiors and to secure access onto properties by closing gates and activating alarms.

Message boards were continuously updated with warning messages to keep the community informed. The maintenance of these boards was being handled by the Security Forum in conjunction with the security companies.

Use of Cellular phones at intersections, encouraged smash & grab incidents and residents should repeatedly be reminded to be more vigilant at all times and to close their windows and lock doors when driving.

Business robberies had stabilised and there had been a marked increase in arrests and court appearances where bail had been refused due to excellent Police and intelligence work during May and June.

The Fairland Kopje is receiving continuous attention, as it has been raised by both residents and the FRRA. The JMPD had offered their support
to assist SAPS in this regard.

R/. Supt Mark Ishlove reported that the team of Reservists had delivered 640 hours in duty time over the past month and there were currently 26 active members in Fairland.

10 of these were class D members;
1 was a class C member;
15 are class A members.

A monthly target of 40 arrests had been set and to date 37 had been made.

Supt Moichela was praised by Supt Ishlove for setting a shining example in the professional manner and methodology he applied in combating crime. This also related specifically to criminal activities committed by the “elite in society” who believed they were above the law. His instincts and actions were based on solid intelligence and had delivered excellent results.

Potential Reservist recruits were being kept on ice and being groomed to be ready for the lifting of the moratorium. The proven system involving Psychometric testing and evaluation criteria was being re-introduced to ensure the quality of future recruits.
Training for the SAPS officers will continue to enhance service delivery.z

Report from Security Forum Meetings

The Security Forum and Sector Policing were operating smoothly with support from security companies. A Memorandum of Agreement was being promulgated for approval by the Station Commissioner to improve communication systems and integrate support.

Urban Security Sub Committee Report.

The various proposals had been considered and a revised presentation detailing the concept had been prepared by Mr. Deale and distributed to the sub-committee members inviting participation.
A separate meeting would be arranged to be attended by Supt. Moichela, R Supt. Ishlove, Dr. Karim, Nick Gouws, Fritz Draxl, Clinton Matheson and Roland Deale.
The meeting would be to evaluate the concept, plan the strategic implementation thereof and the CPA.

Once agreed, this would be presented to the CPF Exco for ratification. \General.

Clinton Matheson raised some interesting points regarding the community support in other precincts and their success in delivering a solution to combat crime. A number of these issues had been investigated by the Urban Security sub- committee and would be taken into account during the development of the Fairland Concept.

The major issue would be poor support from members of the community and motivating them to commit to a sustainable long term project.
The community appears to become outraged and reacts when an incident occurs that affects their personal space. The small number of regular CPF committee members present at the meeting was an indication of the apathy of the general community.
General community meetings were poorly attended and number improved only when incidents and issues such as low cost housing and loss of life occurred.

Victim support was still being provided and a section of the station board room was used to counsel trauma victims. An article had appeared in the NMT offering counseling at a fee which was not part of the free Fairland CPF/ SAPS service. This was supervised by Mollie Pearmain on behalf of the station and the CPF. Mollie was on leave until September 2009 and was unavailable for comment.