More cops for city suburbs

Jo'bjurg Mayor Parks Tau says the municipality wants to get closer to its citizens and provides services on a ward by ward basis. Image: City of Jo'burg

Over the weekend the Jo'burg Plus 10 initiative was launched in Mondeor. Mayor Parks Tau said this was part of a multi-disciplinary programme for the City of Johannesburg, which was launched in 2012 and piloted in a few wards.

He said it was aimed at combating crime and grime in communities.

Tau promised that the city would allocate 10 officers per ward as well as teams from urban management, emergency services, social development and environmental health practitioners to work directly with communities in a co-ordinated manner.

"It should be this community that decides on what initiatives metro police and other officials should take. We need to ensure that bylaws are prioritise so our strategy differs from region to region to meet the challenges," he said. "We want to ensure the programme works with the deployment of urban management in our areas," Tau added.

Ward councillor Oupa Dyolo said the programme would strengthen ties between citizens and the municipality.

"They will be strictly accountable to the wards. They will also be part of us. They need to understand crime and the issues affecting residents and do what is expected of them. I appeal to other officials not to use metro police officers to intimidate people," he said.

Source: Sowetan via I-Net Bridge