Three towns are crime hotspots in Eden

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Crime prevention in the Southern Cape is the responsibility of two police clusters, the Eden Cluster deputy commander, Brig Phumzile Vincent Cetyana, told representatives at the Eden District Municipality Representative Forum on Integrated Development Planning, Budgeting and Performance Management in Mossel Bay this past week.

He said the hotspots in the area for contact crimes are Oudtshoorn, George (Thembalethu) and Knysna.

Statistics showed that these towns reported the highest incidents of murder, aggravated assault and sexual offences. No report was made on crime in the Da Gamaskop police zone.

Brig Cetyana said the proliferation of firearms was worrysome, with the use of weapons becoming all the more common in crimes committed in the area. "In the past this area was not known for weapons; now police members are increasingly confronted with weapons being used to commit crimes, especially in cases of organised crime. More and more external groupings are involved in local crimes.

"We also find that spaza shops have become easy targets."

With regards to contact crimes, the Brigadier said it was cases of domestic violence, sexual abuse and liquor offences that were worrisome.

While all of the police stations in the Eden cluster had a sufficient number of police vehicles, the brigadier said the challenge was to find suitably qualified police members to drive the vehicles.

Councillors argued that policing should be taken closer to the people with more police members and more contact points and satellite stations being made available in the rural areas.

One of the major problems facing the police in the Garden Route was the need to replace members who either resigned or transferred out of the region. The brigadier said the police were now given a mandate to recruit new members.

Oudtshoorn has become notorious for a high incidence of assault and robbery, with the area placed in the top ten on both counts in the province.

Councillors from Bitou complained that the Knysna area is served by only one police station despite the vast outlying areas such as Hornlee to cope with.