Cape Town - The Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum (MPCPF) has called for residents to participate in the process of building a Tafelsig police station.
Building was initially planned for 2018.
On Saturday, the remains of an unknown man were found in Cascade Street.
MPCPF chairperson Norman Jantjies said: “According to SAPS, construction is set to start before the end of November. We are now calling people to be proactive and attend meetings about the planned police station.
“We can’t say too much about it now because I don’t know the size of the station, but we do welcome the plan, because we know it will take some pressure off the Mitchells Plain police station which is servicing the bigger part of the area.”
Jantjies described the area as one of the hot spots for crime and gangsterism.
“The temporary solution for this is that people should report crime while the police station has not been built.
“We should work together, and I am calling the provincial government and the City to embark on a social crime prevention programme, with us as community safety structures, so we can have a sustained integrated crime prevention. Crime cannot be resolved by law enforcement alone; we really do need a gang intervention plan with all the stakeholders, which should be driven by the provincial government.”
Jantjies said Tafelsig residents were dealing with more issues than crime.
“This is an impoverished area, which has a drug issue, and there is no infrastructure, which all contribute to crime. We need to bring in sports and culture, social development, and many other people to try to make it a better place. This place really needs a police station, and we urge everyone to attend meetings, which will be communicated. We need their input.”
Community leader Anwar Alexander said he had no idea that the police station would finally be built.
“The area is very hostile, and the reaction time will be better. This is amazing news for us. It was planned for quite some time, but it never came through. The police station will benefit us and the surrounding areas.
“In the past weekend we had 14 incidents that were reported. The problem we are experiencing is the reaction time. The nearest police station is near the Town Centre and they take about three hours to come out,” he said.