Melville

RELATED LINKS: Joburg's crime fighting operation ongoing In just one week several illegal inner city schools were closed down, 50 beggars removed from major intersections and several unlawful boom gates taken down - all part of a campaign to stamp out infringements of the City's by-laws. Read more Mayor unveils major crime fighting operation For the next 500 days, members of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) will be out in force, apprehending fugitives, confiscating illegal firearms, closing illegal taverns, impounding unroadworthy vehicles and removing hawkers trading from restricted areas. Read more

Metro police to target Melville hot spots THE Johannesburg Metro Police Department will crack down on people who use drugs and drink and drive in an effort to curb crime in Melville, one of Joburg's entertainment meccas. April 5, 2005 By Ndaba Dlamini MELVILLE transgressors beware: the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is spreading the net wide to apprehend drug users and drunken drivers in and around the suburb. Six joint operations between the JMPD and the South African Police Service aim to curb crime and substance abuse in the area. Melville attracts serial offenders to its popular restaurants and nightclubs, says Wayne Minnaar, the JMPD spokesperson, adding that the suburb is now patronised by drug peddlers. "The sale of drugs and abuse of liquor is now more rife in Melville than in surrounding suburbs such as Parktown, Auckland Park and even the central business district." Minnaar attributes this emerging notoriety to the popularity of Melville's places of entertainment. He says that since December last year, 30 drunken drivers and 25 illegal immigrants have been arrested, some in possession of drugs, in roadblocks mounted by metro police on all roads surrounding Melville. "We have more raids on the pipeline," he warns. The crackdown is part of Operation Token Days, the 500-day crime fighting campaign by the metro police to enforce City by-laws, says Minnaar. "A nursing sister will be stationed at these roadblocks to draw blood from suspects when an officer executes an arrest. Our officers will be armed with breathalysers to identify suspected drunken drivers." Operation Token Days is part of the City's broader Safety Strategy adopted by the council in August 2004. Hot spots identified for operations include Hillbrow, the CBD, Newtown, Diepsloot, Alexandra, Moroka and Orange Farm. The crime-fighting operation was launched by the executive mayor of the City at the end of 2004. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za