By OBAKENG MAJE
The residents of Pampierstad and neighbouring towns such as Hartswater and Jan Kempdorp in Northern Cape, urged the law enforcement agencies to utilise all available resources at their disposal to combat crime.
The community members said there is a high rate of crime in their areas especially in Hartswater CBD. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the Hawks in Northern Cape had an outreach program in quest of creating awareness and educating the public about its role and functionality.
One of the residents, Mashope Kanakang said, now criminals are committing crime with impunity because there is lawlessness. Kanakang said, they do not feel safe anymore when they are shopping in Hartswater because criminals continue to terrorise them.
“We would like to see high visibility of police, especially in town. Criminals are taking advantage because you hardly see police patrolling. Now, I think things will escalate as the festive season is approaching.
“There is chaos wherever you go, especially during the social grants phase. Some criminals masquerade as car guards, while others take people’s hard-earned cash under false pretense through gambling,” she said.
Modise Kalakgosi from Bonita park shared the same sentiments. Kalakgosi said, he is a victim of criminality and he was pick-pocketed in town in daylight.
“People will walk past you as if nothing is happening. So, we call for high police visibility, especially around taxi rank and secluded areas. You’ll find a lot of criminals there selling nyaope, while others are loitering in the streets looking for their next prey.
“We want a safer environment and that will only happen when the police take control by stamping their authority. They should also combat the selling of drugs by activating operations. Police should apply a zero-tolerance approach towards criminals and ensure that everyone is safe,” he said.
Thebe said: “The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the Hawks have been established as an independent directorate within the South African Police Service (SAPS) in terms of Section 17C of the South African Police Service Act, 1995 as amended by the South African Police Service Amendment Act, 2008 (Act 57 of 2008).
“The Hawks is responsible for the combating, investigation and prevention of national priority crimes such as serious organized crime, serious commercial crime and serious corruption in terms of Section 17B and 17D of the South African Police Service Act, 1995 as amended.”
Thebe further said, they visited Hartswater, Pampierstad and Jan Kempdorp, where they engaged with various community members. He said they are happy that, most of community members were keen on understanding the role and functionality of the Hawks.
“We have picked up that, some community members are aware of our existence because they posed various questions that were aligned with our role and functionality. So, we are happy with the reception. We have also picked up that, there are prevalent crimes such as human trafficking and the scourge of drugs, especially in Hartswater. So, we urge community members to report any criminal activities within their vicinities.
“Some criminals are masquerading as vendors while selling drugs. We have also realised that most of the drugs come from Longaneng and Magogong villages. There are some houses in Hartswater that are known as havens for criminals, but community members give a blind eye,” said Thebe.
He added that, they will continue with their awareness campaign throughout the province. Thebe said, some community members alleged that some police officers are working with criminals and this creates a backlog during investigations.
“The South African Police Service Amendment Act, 2012 (Act 10 of 2012) introduced the reporting procedures as provided in Section 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 which stipulates that reporting should be made to any police officer.
“In terms of the latest amendment, all such offenses must now be reported to a member of the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation. So, some cases that will be reported to us will be de-referred to relevant law enforcement agencies because we are working hand-in-hand,” he said.
The Guardian 