Illegal dumping in Voortrekker Road, taxis, vagrants, drugs and prostitution are a few of the crime trends discussed at Bellville Community Policing Forum (BCPF)’ first community partnership meeting held last Wednesday.
The event was attended by various neighbourhood watches, corridor improvement districts, the Bellville police, as well as organisations that work with the homeless – MES and The Haven.
The BCPF hopes these informal meetings will facilitate better community interaction with the police and help all involved combat crime more effectively.
Religious leaders also held a similar meeting recently.
Ilse Maartens, manager of MES in Cape Town, spoke about the wide range of issues affecting street people in the area. She invited neighbourhood watches to attend meetings where they could focus on hotspots and those who are genuinely homeless can be identified, instead of criminals hiding among them. Neighbourhood watch members will also hear more on how to approach and interact street people who suffer from mental health issues.
Attendees also discussed the state of disaster, the eviction procedure, the law, and human rights of street people.
It was decided that many other companies and organisations will be invited to the next meeting – including security companies, religious leaders, law enforcement and NGO’s SWEAT and Step Up.
Attendees were reminded to report all crime, including petty crime, as this helps determine crime trends.
