Skollies and skelms in Bishop Lavis are in for a tough time as 100 Law Enforcement and Metro Police officers will be stationed exclusively in this area soon.
The announcement by Mayco Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, comes amid calls for intervention from crimefighters who took to the streets on Friday along with the Anti-Gang Unit.
Smith says following the additional funds given to the department by Mayor Dan Plato, they will now pump R32 million into Bishop Lavis, Valhalla Park and Bonteheuwel for the expansion of the Neighbourhood Safety Teams (NST).
The NST project was established in Delft last year made up of 100 dedicated officers from various units including the Stabilisation Unit, School Resource Officers, Neighbourhood Safety Officers, Gang and Drug Task Team and a violence interruption intervention team.
Smith says as part of the project, the City has allocated R4.6 million towards CCTV cameras.
“We are also going to be sending in school resource officers to help curb the active recruitment by gangs at the schools. The plan is to roll out the new project by May,” he says.
Community Police Forum (CPF) chairperson, Graham Lindhorst, says they were excited to hear the news.
“We welcome this initiative because it is needed in these areas.
“We listened to what it will entail and the station commander [Brigadier Christopher Jones] had committed to working with the new teams to make the area safer.
“We are excited about the cameras and we are planning to make recommendations on where they should be placed.” Smith says the City is now awaiting the annual release of crime statistics later this year to ascertain the projects' impact in Delft.
monique.duval@inl.co.za