12 October 2006 Combating crime in the City The Joburg City Safety Strategy (JCSS) proposes that the City should play the leading role in public safety in Johannesburg in close cooperation with SAPS and the Gauteng Department of Community Safety. The JCSS aims to reduce both the actual incidence of crime and the negative perceptions of crime which impact on business confidence and investment decision making as well as the demoralizing effect on residents. As a City we have also realized the urgency to put in place programmes of action to combat criminal activity hence establishment of an inner city task force, installation of CCTV surveillance in parts of the central business district and Braamfontein and the modernization of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD). JMPD can now respond to calls and make arrests. Once an arrest is made however the person must be handed over to SAPS for investigation, as they are the only organization that can investigate crimes. The dedicated JMPD phone number to report incidents is (011) 375 5911. At present there are four geographic focus areas in the City that we believe are hotspots for crime. These are the Inner City, Norwood, Orange Grove, Moroka and Jabulani in Soweto. Regular joint operations with SAPS are held in these areas that take the form of roadblocks, vehicle and body searches, bylaw enforcement and information dissemination. In particular there is a heightened sense of security leading towards the festive season. Police officers are deployed on organized patrols in demarcated priority areas and are assisted by reports from the CCTV control centre. CCTV is a tool used together with other mechanisms but with focused surveillance on access routes. As criminals become more daring, so too does SAPS and JMPD need to become more efficient and effective in responding to criminal activity. Hence the establishment of a CCTV rapid response team comprising of SAPS and JMPD officers in February this year. This team has been responsible for more than 450 arrests. Residents and business also have a civic duty to cooperate in fighting crime by reporting suspicious behaviour or activity. A hotline has been set up for inner city businesses to report robberies and alert the CCTV control room to incidents that happen inside buildings, which the cameras would not pick up. The number is (011) 331 1339. Together with SAPS and other law enforcement agencies, the City needs to create a healthy respect for the law in an orderly and well-governed city to reduce crime. Street robbery, robbery of businesses, hijacking of vehicles and property theft have a serious effect on public confidence and we need to increase our resources and create more police visibility. There are challenges that need to be overcome with regards to adequate resources to combat crime. The other aspect of reducing crime is the enforcement of bylaws. The disregard of bylaws on street trading causes overcrowding on pavements that adds to the difficult task of policing. The illegal occupation of abandoned and derelict buildings in the inner city is not only a safety and health hazard but is conducive for criminal activity. It is therefore necessary for police to deal with crime and grime towards a safer cleaner environment in Joburg. Ends Issued on behalf of Councillor Thomas Phakathi Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety Virgil James Spokesperson Communications Telephone: 011 407 7226 Facsimile: 011 403 3494 Cell: 082 467 9415 Email: virgilj@joburg.co.za