In an effort to improve community safety in Olievenhoutbosch in Centurion, Police Minister Bheki Cele has announced that the area’s police station management will be changed in July.  

The Minister made the announcement during a meeting with community leaders and executive management of the South African Police Service (SAPS). 

Cele was in the meeting, accompanied by Police Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale, Gauteng Community Safety and Liaison MEC Faith Mazibuko and National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole and his management team.

It was a follow-up meeting from last week’s ministerial imbizo at which a series of policing shortcomings, especially claims of poor service residents receive from the local police station, were raised. 

In a statement, the Ministry said the delegation announced that a clean-up campaign will take place, starting with the overhauling of the management of the police station. A new station commander will be deployed to the area in July. 

“Extending the building of the police station to accommodate more officers to serve the growing population will be urgently looked into.

“In the meantime, a medium term solution to the station’s resourcing shortcomings will be addressed over the coming weeks, with the injection of new patrol vehicles to complement the existing fleet.”

The Ministry said a team of detectives has been assembled to investigate hundreds of cold cases. Currently, Olievenhoutbosch has over 1800 undetected cases.

“The team of investigators will track and trace suspects, wanted for various crimes including murder, rape and robbery,” reads the statement.

During the meeting, the Gauteng Department of Community Safety committed to reviving the local Community Police Forum (CPF) to facilitate community-police relations in the area as well as build street committees that are fully functional.

Cele in the statement said all the interventions were necessary if the SAPS was to win back the trust of the community. 

“The station’s performance will be monitored at national level through the inspectorate and regular reports will be issued to the police management to monitor its progress.

“I am appealing to the community to work with us in cleaning up this policing area, I urge residents to report corrupt police, at the same time I call on community members to give support to the many good, honest and hardworking officers of the law,” he said. 

The Ministry urged all communities to report police wrongdoing to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).

Source: South African Government News Agency