Conventional policing alone is not the answer to address Nelson Mandela Bay’s high crime rate.
This is according to the deputy cluster commander of the Mount Road policing precinct, Andre Louw, who was speaking at a panel discussion on crime and security in the city.
The dialogue was hosted by The Herald and the Nelson Mandela University’s Centre for the Advancement of NonRacialism and Democracy (Canrad) at the Port Elizabeth City Hall. “Conventional policing [alone] is not the answer.
“We need to change society,” Louw said.
He said all arms of government had to become more efficient in their tasks to change communities and decrease the scourge of crime.
“What are other government departments being measured on? Yes, our policing mechanisms are not perfect.
“But if we measure performance, as police we get measured on prisons population.
“But what about other government departments?
“If I walk down the street in Helenvale, is that really the yardstick of proper housing and socioeconomic development?” Louw said.
Gavin Joseph, from Opserve, a technical arm of Telkom, told the gathering of the impact of crime on infrastructure development and maintenance in communities.
He said there were hotspots in the metro where cables were constantly stolen and technicians attacked.
“It becomes repetitive and we come to a point where we say, ‘is it financially viable to repair those cables?’ As business, we’ve also looked at revenues because let’s face it, we’re not there to be a charity,” Joseph said.
“All of businesses exist for their bottom line.
“Then the second impact is on our technicians.
“Just this year alone we’ve had more than 25 of our technicians involved in armed robberies.
“Because of the nature of their job they carry a laptop and a cellphone with them on a daily basis.
“So the criminals know exactly what kind of equipment these guys have got and they will approach and say, ‘I want your cellphone and I want your laptop’.”
Peace safety and security development activist Zelda Holtzman said: “I hear that prisons are full.
“But there is a belief that every person in prison is an indictment against society.”
Asked how communities should empower themselves to fight crime, Holtzman said each community was different and had to come up with its own solutions.
“We can’t prescribe what the solutions are. The solutions lie where the problems are.”
Hillside resident Miriam Strydom said it was easy for those who were not victims of gang violence to speak on it.
“We live in the northern areas. We live with bullets sounding in our ears as we sleep.
“There’s no visible policing there. Just last week my son was robbed.”
Community policing forum member Timothy Hendricks said the mandate of community policing forums was to monitor the efficiency of community activism.
“But without funds, it becomes non-existent.
“Also, the reason why we have infighting at CPF level is that it becomes a political playing field.
“This party or that party wants to take over.”
Louw highlighted how criminality in prisons impacted on violence and crime in communities.
“Prisons have become a university for crime. It’s a confined environment where crimes are planned.
“Some people commit crimes just so they can get into prison to help plan.
“Some of the things that happen in prison are beyond the control of police.
“We need intelligence. Prison warders live in the community. We need to work together,” he said.