Partnerships with members of the community have helped reduce crime levels in parts of Grahamstown, according to local police.
Partnerships with members of the community have helped reduce crime levels in parts of Grahamstown, according to local police.
This comes after Acting National Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane announced last Friday a slight decrease in almost all categories of crime.
Phahlane was speaking at the official release of South Africa’s 2016 crime statistics.
Grahamstown is served by two police stations, the Joza and Grahamstown stations. The two stations have also shown improvements in different categories.
According to the statistics, the Grahamstown station is among the stations with the largest number of recorded crimes in the Eastern Cape. In the Common Assault category it has been ranked third in the province, with 10.6 percent of cases reported in the Eastern Cape recorded there.
In the Common Robbery category it is eighth with 7.5 percent of the province’s reported cases. In the Burglary at Residential category the station comes at position six with 8.9 percent of cases.
Last, in the Other Serious Crime category, the Grahamstown station comes at position 10, contributing 6.9 percent of the cases recorded.
There are significant differences in figures for the Grahamstown and Joza stations.
Statistics for the Joza station show a decrease of 19.2 percent in murder cases. Sex offence cases dropped by 16.9 percent, attempted murder dropped by 27.8 percent and assault with intent to inflict bodily harm dropped by 3.7 percent.
Meanwhile, at the Grahamstown station, murder cases rose by 45.5 percent, sex offence cases rose by 16.4 percent, attempted murder rose by 33.3 percent and assault with intent to inflict bodily harm dropped by 17.1 percent.
Grahamstown police spokesperson Captain Luvuyo Mjekula said in addition to their normal crime prevention activities such as high police visibility through patrols, operations and proactive initiatives including awareness campaigns, it was co-operation and partnerships with members of the community that had made it possible for them to record some improvements.
He said as the South African Police Services (SAPS) they would do their best to keep the community safe through crime prevention measures including high visibility, patrols and operations.
Mjekula emphasised that while SAPS continues to lead in the fight against crime, the community’s role was crucial.
He said the police would continue to strengthen their relationship with stakeholders through initiatives such as the Community Police Forums (CPF).
The fight against crime needed a collective effort from businesses and the community at large because the battle against crime requires a collective effort from all the parties.
"SAPS needs the community in order to win the fight against crime. Reporting crime to the police and joining crime fighting organisations such as the CPF and Neighbourhood Watch as well as Sector Forums are just some contributions members of the public can make. These contributions go a long way in assisting the SAPS.
"Despite the challenges police in the Grahamstown Cluster face, we undertake to work with members of the community to intensify the fight against crime. We appeal to the community to be vigilant in their surroundings. Complacency can lead to huge losses, as the police cannot be at all places at all times," said Mjekula.
Grahamstown according to Census 2011 is 62.67 km². Its population then was recorded at 50 217 (13 427 households) who live at an average density of 801.35 people (214.26 households) per km².
In order to get a more balanced perspective on crime in the city as a whole, Grocott’s Mail has combined the statistics for the Grahamstown and Joza police stations.
