Download PDFCrime has been a growing concern for years within the Central Business District (CBD) in Johannesburg. The crime rate only seems to be growing and little to nothing effective is being done to combat crime.
I went around Johannesburg CBD interviewing residents about the rise of crime and that’s when I made this realisation. I spoke to a Johannesburg Metro Police (JMPD) official, business owners, and passersby, and they said that there is a growing concern regarding crime within the CBD.
One street vendor said that she constantly feels uncomfortable operating her business in the CBD, as she feels that someone might grab her stock and run away. She further said that she prays every day that nothing happens to her as she is the only breadwinner in her family and that she is a mother to four children.
The JMPD official said, “If only government could train new officials properly and give them the weapons to arm and protect themselves and the community, then we would see a decrease in crime”. The main reason the police cannot control crime is overpopulation, the officer said.
Vincent Ngwenya, a security officer for a bus company on Kerk Street, said that he is risking his life daily whenever he goes to work.
“The areas that I’m patrolling are very dangerous, as sometimes I have to turn a blind eye, when any illegal activities are happening and [in] the building where we are standing at right now, people are selling drugs.”
The JMPD officer said that unlike in the old days when crime was so common, officers were well-trained but today some members of the South African Police Service will even run away or don’t show up at all when called to a crime scene. He added that if the government recruited new officers and armed them with proper equipment and weapons, they would be better able to fight crime, also alleging that the AmaPanyaza crime-fighting set is not trained well for the job.
“We need at least 1500 more recruits, then the crime situation might decrease,” the officer explained.
This article was submitted on 29 June 2024. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
