October 23, 2001
THE chief of Hillbrow Police Station, Director Oswald Reddy, aims to change the crime-ridden face of Hillbrow, armed with a master's degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, reports the Sunday Times.
While station commissioner at Dobsonville, Soweto, Reddy was invited to apply to study at Harvard, which he thought was a prank, but it wasn't. It was a little difficult for Reddy at first to adapt to the life of a student at age 38, especially having come from the disciplined life of a policeman.
Reddy says that one of the useful things he learnt was how the distorted perceptions of people can affect areas such as Hillbrow. He says he wants to change these perceptions and thus change the suburb's reputation.
He isn't about to claim that Hillbrow is crime free, but says Reddy, "I feel safe in Hillbrow because I'm policing the area and know I have the support of the law-abiding citizens".
Reddy has identified three priorities to clean up the streets of the suburb:
- To address the crime, especially drugs, prostitution, illegal firearms and armed robberies on the streets
- To root out corruption in the police force and other government departments in the area
- To improve the police's service to the community.
This will happen by implementing certain actions, including:
- Zero tolerance of any crime, even urinating in public.
- Seizing the assets of buildings used for criminal purposes.
- Efficient and effective staff development.
(Source: Sunday Times, October 21 2001)
