Pretoria - Members of the Tshwane metro police department descended on residents and motorists in a crackdown on illegal activities in Mabopane and Winterveld on the weekend.
Criminals and drunk drivers, who have become used to the lack of police visibility, found themselves in the glare of the law, as metro police officers held a random stop-and-search operation on the M39 (Bushveld Road) on Saturday night. The road connects travellers to townships like Hammanskraal and to Pretoria, making it a busy road and a challenging one when there are night-time activities and entertainment.
Residents said they and motorists were often involved in accidents due to drunk driving, while pedestrians were often robbed on the road.
MEC for Community Safety Faith Mazibuko and provincial police Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela held road blocks on the road to address crime, including robberies, housebreaking, car-jacking, hijacking, and gender-based violence.
Motorists were stopped during the operation by the officials, who checked for sobriety and ensured they were fit to drive. Vehicle roadworthiness was also an object of inspection.
Residents said it was commendable for the metro police to execute its mandate at the height of load shedding, and as some houses and streets were without electricity due to a transformer that gave in over the weekend.
Ike Khanyile said: “This is good work, because truth be told, the people here have mostly lost hope in the police. Some people do not even report crime anymore because when you are robbed you are basically opening a case just to put it on record. It is not like your stuff will be recovered. We need this kind of police work so that criminals can be made uncomfortable.
“Drunk drivers, too. Our children do not learn, so they get into cars with bottles and it is a lot of young men and young women doing all kinds of reckless things.”
Mmathapelo and her husband Eric Ledwaba said they were impressed because the officers were stopping so many cars in the darkness to ensure that they were not breaking any laws.
Said Eric Ledwaba: “Let this be a demonstration and an inspiration to other policing authorities stationed in other communities. We need to have this culture so that all communities are quiet.
“Right now, if you travel in our communities from Winterveld to Lebanon to Odinburg and Klipgat, our people are afraid.
“Every community now has patrollers because there is generally not enough policing. At the same time, we only have one police station, with limited capacity.”
Spokesperson for the Tshwane metro police department, senior superintendent Isaac Mahamba,said: “As the metro police, we are committed to reducing the number of accidents, and as we mentioned in the past, most accidents are due to human error and driving under the influence of alcohol is one of them.
“We will continue to deploy members in all hot spots in the entire city for law enforcement and those found to be on the wrong side of the law, they will be dealt with.
“We also urge motorists to comply with rules of the road and make sure that their vehicles are always in roadworthy condition.”
Pretoria News