W ITH more than 1.3 million people living in its 11 policing areas, Soweto could almost qualify as a city within a city.
From Diepkloof to Protea, creating a visible- policing presence over its 150km2 area is no small feat.
The solution was a sector policing system, which has also been implemented in the rest of Joburg.
To do this, Gauteng police divided Soweto into two cluster areas, splitting the 10 police stations between them. Each station was divided into zones, and those zones were divided into sectors.
Each sector has two police cars, which patrol that area. The cars have two armed officers patrolling in them. Each car also has two dedicated cellphones, which are switched on 24 hours a day. The cellphone numbers are printed on the side of the vehicles, so residents can call them at any time.
Orlando cluster commander Major-General Eric Nkuna said sector policing was proving to be a great success.
Nkuna’s cluster covers the Orlando, Diepkloof, Eldorado, Kliptown and Meadowlands police stations.
“I have worked in different provinces and sector policing has never worked as well as it does here.
“What it means for the people is that they don’t have to go to the police stations to report a crime; the police come to them.
“The officers’ cellphones are on 24 hours a day and their reaction time is quick. Residents no longer have to wait long to be attended to,” explained Nkuna.
“Before, the 10111 number was at a call centre. Now there is a vehicle in your area and they have the necessary materials to open up a case. People no longer have to walk or spend money to get to the station, they can just call.”
This approach helped police free up officers to focus on the sectors where they were most needed.
“There are problematic areas that need more attention than others. In our case, it’s Kliptown. Domestic violence and assault in Eldorado Park is a big headache.”
Attached to Eldorado Park is the Freedom Park area and its flats, where the majority of problems are related to drug dealing and domestic assault.
“Liquor is also a big problem; it’s a generator of crime, which often leads to murder,” said Nkuna.
Moroka cluster commander General Nkanyiso Maphanga agrees: “One of our greatest challenges is shebeens. They are generators of crime that need to be uprooted.”
The Moroka cluster includes Dobsonville, Jabulani, Protea Glen, Moroka, Lenasia and Lenasia South.
Several shebeens in Maphanga’s cluster area have been closed down over recent months. Maphanga said the social underpinning of crime was not easy to deal with.
“Most contact crimes happen between people who are known to each other. In Soweto, the majority of rape victims know the perpetrators, which makes it difficult to police.
“Sector policing, though, has helped to decrease crime in general.”
Maphanga said residents needed to find out which numbers were allocated to the cars in their sector.
They also needed to get involved in fighting crime in their area. He encouraged residents to participate in their area’s monthly sector meetings.
“It’s very important for people to participate in sector meetings. People in the area have the right to convene those meetings. There they can discuss generators of crime and look at problem areas.”
Maphanga said that if residents had a problem with police officers in their area, they needed to bring it to the attention of the managers at the police station.
“Often residents go to the client service centre (charge office), and become frustrated. They then go to provincial and national, but to solve their problem, they will have to go back to the station commander. Every member of the public must insist on getting help there. Their cellphone numbers should be available.”