2007 CPF AGM held on 12 June 2007
HONEYDEW COMMUNITY POLICING FORUM
12th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT THE PRINTING COLLEGE ON TUESDAY 12 JUNE 2007
1. NOTICE OF MEETING
Notice of the meeting was given via way of e-mail.
2. APOLOGIES
Nick Gamble; Eva Tinnefeld; Anne Koppenaal; Lisa and Kim Myburgh; Dee White; Dean McCabe; Dir. Palko; Johannes Gutmayer and Volker Hoffmeister.
3. CHAIMAN’S OPENING ADDRESS
MEMORIAL PRESENTATION
John Baisley told the meeting that we had very special guests with us this evening. He said that about two years ago we all remember the tragic death of Cnst Johan Slabbert (jnr), who died after being injured in a shooting. That year the Honeydew CPF decided to launch the Johan Slabbert Memorial trophy and this is presented annually at the Police Ball. Last year Leonie van Heerden had been the recipient, as she had lost her husband Frikkie in the tragic aftermath of Jeppestown and she too had been injured on that fateful day. However, we as a community had collected money for all the families who lost loved ones on that day and tonight we were here to honour those families, by presenting them with a miniature memorial trophy (which Ngwenya Glass had kindly donated), as well as a cheque from the community. John said that all these men had paid the supreme sacrifice and we truly recognized their bravery and courage.
John then handed the trophies and cheques to:
Leonie van Heerden
Brenda Schoeman
Dineo & Terrence Mathiye
Nadia Seward
4. PRESENTATION OF GOODWILL SHIELD
The Goodwill Shield for April 2007 was presented to Det/Cnst Andy Mankayi, for his outstanding achievements during the past months. Snr. Supt. Eksteen told everyone that Andy has managed to secure excellent sentences for suspects that he has arrested (7 years for a house breaking and theft case and 2 years for another house breaking and theft case). He was also instrumental in the arrest of 6 suspects and another 3 suspects who have been positively linked to Meyerton cases for armed robbery. Stolen property was also recovered. Andy also arrested another 3 suspects and seized a V.W. Golf and B.M.W.
The Goodwill Shield for May 2007 was presented to Capt. Joe Mokolela. Supt. Kobe said that Capt Mokolela had joined Honeydew in September 2006 from Muldersdrift. In that time he had managed to produce the best performing shift, which had resulted in the shift producing the most arrests, which he has been personally involved in. He is also the Sector Manager for Cosmo City and he has worked hard in trying to sort out the problems.
5. CONFIRMATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE 11th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Acceptance of the minutes of the 11th Annual General Meeting were proposed by Ralf Bittkau and seconded by Roger Costopoulos.
6. CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT – JOHN BAISLEY
John said that he has broken down the last year. He said that a new Management Team had been appointed at the station and he said that he had personally seen changes. The CPF had continued with positive things:
- Goodwill Shield – still sponsored
- Crime briefs
- Informer
- Rose Nel was kindly delivering the Informer
- Meal Vouchers for the SAPS members at Christmas
- Website had been launched
- Purchase of a Morpho Touch machine in partnership with Specialised Freight Services
- Ops Room is still functioning
- The CPF Office is still functioning
- Some new Residents’ Associations are up and running including Little Falls Family Security Network and Cosmo City Extensions
- Printing of the Trauma Brochure
John had attended:
- The Station Imbizo
- Take Charge Campaign (it was good to share with ± 100 other CPF’s.
- Meeting with Susan Shabangu (who was willing to put pressure from the Government for the SAPS to perform)
- Parliamentary Portfolio Committee (commitment in the fight against crime)
He said the down side was:
- Crime was still way too high and we need to do more to address this
The things still to be achieved:
- We need greater community support
- Need the establishment of more Residents’ Associations
- Greater buy in from all with monetary contribution
- Fund raising
- More residents and SAPS combined Crime Prevention Operations
- Working relationship with security companies
The challenges we face:
- APATHY
- CRIME
- New Police Station
John said that he would like to conclude by thanking the following:
- His family
- Kim Myburgh the Deputy Chairman
- Edith & Carmel
- The Executive
- Ops Room staff
- The SAPS – our partner
- The Trauma Unit – however we do not have enough volunteers. We are often asked to assist with cases that are not in our Precinct area
- The Community and Residents’ Associations
- ER24
- JMPD
- Ward Councillors
- Sponsors
- Local newspapers
John asked if we could proceed to the financial report as Natalie Knobel needed to leave.
FINANCIAL REPORT –NATALIE KNOBEL
The financial statements are available to anyone who wishes to view them. Natalie said that at the previous AGM we had stated that we need to do more fundraising which we had not done, except for the memorials.
Our income is derived from general donations; R.A. donations; garages; Sysman. Out of this the salaries for the Admin. Staff as well the Ops Room is paid. R145 000 was raised for the financial year.
7. STATION COMMISSIONER’S ANNUAL REPORT
Asst. Comm. Reddy said that he would like to begin by congratulating the new Executive. He also extended his thanks to the outgoing Committee for all their hard work. He said that we must remember they are not working for the SAPS but for the community – which makes it worth while.
Asst. Comm. Reddy said that with the appointment of the new management much more has been expected. There will be a Plan of Action Meeting where key issues will be discussed with the Executive in order to strengthen the partnership between the SAPS and the community.
Asst. Comm. Reddy said that he would like to introduce his Management Team. Director Dudumashu, Head of Support Services, Dir. Nengovhela, Head of Visible Policing, Snr. Supt. Mavundza, Head of the CSC, Snr Supt. (f) Eksteen, Acting Head of Detectives and Capt Naude Social Crime Prevention.
Asst. Comm. Reddy expressed a special word of appreciation to the CPF for the presentations that they made at the beginning of the meeting. He said that he had really felt heart warmed that the officers who had lost their lives had been recognized. It proved that Honeydew does care and that the tokens that were presented were not as important as the recognition.
Major re-structuring had taken place at Honeydew. There was re-aligning with National, Provincial and local Government. The re-structuring had taken place to strengthen police stations. At present there were three priorities:
- The prevention, reduction and stabilization of crime
- Improving service delivery from the police station (the public can bring problems to the attention of the station via the website or e-mail)
- Zero Tolerance Approach to corruption
We had not received the resources that were anticipated or promised. There had already been six arrests for corruption and the Commissioner stated that if necessary the perpetrators will be fired. At present we are not standing far off from where we started as far as the staff compliment is concerned. We will be receiving staff on an ad hoc basis and this will include students. There will still be some redeployment from the Area Offices. Asst. Comm. Reddy said that Snr. Supt. Peche had said that it was the first time in his career where he had more vehicles than he had personnel. There will be a focus on more vehicles for the detectives.
The following strategies to address crime have been implemented:
- The Station Imbizo was held as an overview and assessment of the station
- Stock taking has taken place and there are some resources that have not been accounted for.
The following are the five most problematic crimes
House robberies
Business robberies
Hi-jackings
Burglary at residential premises
Theft of motor vehicle
The Commissioner said that the four months that preceded the last AGM saw a rise in the crime levels and he was not satisfied with the crime levels. However, the month of May 2007 had seen reduction in house robberies by 32% and a reduction in business robberies by 17%. Murder had also stabilized. The problematic suburbs are Weltevreden Park; Randpark Ridge; Cosmo City and Northwold. He also said that Snr. Supt. Eksteen had had good break throughs with her team of detectives.
Asst. Comm. Reddy said that his strategy was to re-align the sectors according to the wards, however this have proved problematic as Randpark Ridge had five wards in the suburb. It has been decided to have 4 wards and the detectives, patrol complaints vans as well as the crime prevention have been divided into the four sectors.
He also said that we need to identify flashpoints as well as increasing the intelligence and finding out who is behind the crime. Capt. Pretorius has been tasked with going into Joburg with the modus operandi that is used in Honeydew to see if there are any similarities. 702 has launched the sms hotline, which is a good idea, however the Commissioner does not want Honeydew restricted to this only. The residents need to make use of the website, e-mail etc. for reporting crime, suspicious activity, drug dealing, drug labs etc.
We had received two Ford St’s as rapid response vehicles. The JMPD were also assisting with 20 metro officers and 8 vehicles for a three month period. They have been incorporated into the four sectors and are under the command of Dir. Nengovhela and will work as a team with Honeydew SAPS to reduce the crime. The JMPD have a 22 check point system where they look at a particular suburb do planning etc. and then they go into the suburb and do a whole operation. They have new state of the art equipment available that has number plate recognition and other functions. They also have a team of 11 officers (in a kombi) who will assist with traffic flow from 06h00 to 08h00 and then again from 16h00 to 18h00. They have offered to assist Honeydew in the off peak times.
Operation Trio was also introduced as an holistic approach, with rapid response. Operation Divine Intervention was launched in March 2007 where the churches have been approached because the Commissioner feels that we need to deal with human behaviour and a change in hearts of the criminals is needed. Asst. Comm. Reddy also said that the SAPS cannot fight the crime (the plague of our society) alone. We need networking with all the key stakeholders passing on information etc. Ideally he would like the criminals to know that they will not be able to move in or out of Honeydew without someone passing on that information. We also need to foster and improve the relationship between the security companies that service this area. Our schools also need to be involved and we need information regarding drug dealers. The partnership between the community and the SAPS needs to grow.
He also said that he would like to acknowledge the good work that has been done by the CPF and this needs recognition. We need to know what we are going to do now and in the future. The Commissioner said that there could be someone sitting here who has ideas and he was willing to entertain new ideas as long as they were not illegal or unlawful.
He ended by stating that he was committed to serving the community with the resources he has.
8. FINANCIAL REPORT
See under Chairman’s report
9. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION
No amendments were received.
10. APPOINTMENT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The following persons were nominated for the Executive Committee
- John Baisley
- Natalie Knobel
- Kim Myburgh
- Edith Sewell
- Allan Stott
Lisa Myburgh will retain the position of Secretary.
11. GENERAL
Ralf Bittkau expressed a vote of thanks to all the outgoing committee as well as the CPF.
Noel McDonald asked when the sectors would be finalized. The Commissioner said it would be within the week. He said that unfortunately the demarcation board would not be sitting again soon and that the previous Management at Honeydew had lost out on the opportunity to have the demarcations of the wards changed, as at the moment they were a nightmare. Mike Tonkin said that with the demarcations at present there were cadastral boundaries which meant that someone’s perimeter fence could actually be a boundary. Mike suggested that we set the sector boundaries according to main roads and routes. Noel also asked whether there will still be security company meetings taking place. The Commissioner explained that the security companies will be included in the Sector Crime Forum and the sector managers will have to ensure that there is wide representation. He also would like representation from street level to the suburb at the Sector Crime Forum. A Chairman would then be appointed from the Sector Crime Forum and that person would then sit on the Station Crime Combating Forum. All other meetings need to be revived and these include garages, security companies and domestic workers.
Ralf Bittkau said that he believed that the JMPD have had over 100% increases in manpower and vehicles. The pedestrian crossings on Beyers Naude were brought into question as there is no Metro presence and the crossings are then ignored. The taxis are also creating more lanes and driving in the dirt. There is a lot of road rage and this causes a back up in the traffic. When Metro is present there is no problem because there is law enforcement, however when they are not present there is chaos.
The taxi violence in the area had been a cause for concern and we had engaged in discussions with the taxi associations. There had also been an investigation launched through the SOC Unit (Serious and Organised Crime Provincial Level). However this did not get the desired result. Dir. Nengovhela from Crime Prevention had stepped in and chaired a meeting with the taxi associations where he put a lot of pressure on them. The SAPS impounded two vehicles and locked up three suspects. One was an ex-convict who had previously been arrested for possession of weapons and ammunition and a second had previously been arrested for assault GBH. Faraday Taxi Association had themselves brought in a suspect. Capt. Mokolela had also picked up suspects an agreement had been reached between Jojota and Faraday whereby they both share the lucrative route between Radiokop and town. Negotiations at a higher level would have to take place as the violence had now shifted to the Bree Street rank. Honeydew SAPS is working closely with Metro and conducting stop and searches.
There had also been the strike action. Asst. Comm. Reddy said that Honeydew SAPS had done regular patrols and so far there had been no serious incidents. However the SAPS had received instructions to be on high alert the next day (13th June 2007). A reaction team had been set up and there would be no static group at schools, however all the schools had been advised to contact Honeydew SAPS at the first sign of any trouble. Asst. Comm. said that NO police official was allowed to strike.
Mike Tonkin said that he was pleased to hear what the Honeydew SAPS were doing. He said that if the SAPS deliver the goods – the community would definitely support them. He said that there had been huge development in the Honeydew area, with a large number of townhouse complexes being built. Mike said he was not sure if the community were aware of the First World Park that had been developed in Wilgeheuvel (it cost R2,4 million) and is truly beautiful. He said there was a huge problem with the water pressure in the Wilgeheuvel/Radiokop area. Joburg Water was addressing the problem. There had been power upgrades in Poortview and the power outages should be a thing of the past. He also said that with the increases in resources for the JMPD they should now do a better job.
Ralf Bittkau said he had three issues to raise:
They had had anti-crime drives in the Douglasdale Precinct and they were reaping the results.
There would be no upgrades to the Eskom electricity grids in Honeydew Ridge.
Would the JMPD go on strike? The answer was No.
Indaba Lane Residents’ Association had a complaint from a resident who had been left to wait in the CSC for ± one hour. Apparently the staff in the CSC had told the complainant that there was nothing they could do after the theft of ostrich skins and the complainant knew where they had been taken to. Asst. Comm. Reddy said that details of the complaint must be forwarded to the station. Dir. Nengovhela said that the public must not only look to the staff in the CSC when they have a complaint, as when one official fails it does not mean that the whole police force fails you. The complainant should have sought out other help especially as it was a week day when there were other senior officers available.
John concluded by thanking everyone and said that he looked forward to continued support.
Lucas Potgieter from ODI said that he would like to conclude the meeting by praying for all the police officers who would be on duty the following day and who faced a daunting task with the prevailing strike action.
12. CLOSURE
There being no further business to discuss the meeting closed at 20:10. |
