Joburg ‘no-go areas’ under close watch
Gauteng police have vowed to root out crime and violence in troubled zones during New Year’s celebrations.
|||Johannesburg - Hillbrow, Yeoville, Sunnyside and Pretoria Central beware - Gauteng police have vowed to root out crime and violence in these notorious areas during New Year’s celebrations.
This is according to Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant-General Lesetja Mothiba, who on Wednesday briefed the media on the provincial police’s state of readiness for the festive season and New Year celebrations.
“Looking at previous years, there used to be no-go areas places like Hillbrow for a few hours before New Year’s celebrations. Those areas were characterised by spontaneous clashes between the police and residents. Now police have taken control and communities living in Hillbrow will not tolerate such situations any more,” he said.
Mothiba said that this year, these areas would have increased visibility patrols to ensure that there was a significant decrease in crime and violence. While he wouldn’t comment on the number of personnel who would be deployed, he said there were joint operations under way between the SAPS, metro police and emergency services to deter lawlessness.
According to Mothiba, Gauteng police have adopted the hashtag #CrimeMustFall as a slogan for the season, and had already begun “painting malls blue” to make it difficult for criminals to operate.
This as the festive season has historically been a peak period for mall robberies and shootouts between cops and robbers.
Furthermore, he said policing over this period would be a multi-disciplinary effort, with the SAPS, Flying Squad, K9 unit, tactical-response teams, bomb disposal, Joburg metro police and reservists working together to root out crime and violence.
Police would also be targeting the illegal sale of liquor, illegal shebeens, removing dangerous weapons and firearms, as well as traffic offences, among others.
Deployments will also target arrogant behaviour and abuse of alcohol along our river fronts, especially in the Vaal areas and major dams.
Patrols around these areas are already in progress by police diving units and other emergency services.
“Drunken behaviour and people found under the influence of liquor will be charged, and they might see their property confiscated - including boats and jet-ski boats,” Mothiba warned.
Mothiba also stated that the 10111 hotline centre would be operational around the clock.
He warned against anyone misusing the service for prank calls.
“We call on the public to behave. Those who have consumed too much alcohol must go to sleep and not cause problems,” he said.
vuyo.mkhize@inl.co.za
The Star
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.