Athlone’s police chief drew an angry response at a tense public meeting on Saturday when residents accused him of presenting statistics that failed to paint a true picture of crime in the area.
Colonel Tjikamba Mbangu was met with cries of “We don’t want to hear about stats”, “These stats aren’t true” and “Things haven’t been going better” as he tried to address the 200-odd people at the Belgravia High School.
The residents also complained that the agenda only gave them a chance to speak, for a limited time, at the end of the meeting.
There were frequent outbursts during the two-hour meeting and residents at the back of the hall complained that with no sound system they couldn’t hear.
According to the stats for the Athlone precinct, from the beginning of April last year to the end of June this year, the murder rate was unchanged from the same period last year with 11 cases.
All of those murders had happened in Belgravia, Vygieskraal and between Johnson and College roads, from 3am to 9am and from noon to 8pm, said Captain Mbangu.
Business burglaries had more than doubled with a 104% in reported cases, he said.
Malicious damage to property, vehicle theft and carjacking increased by 70%, 45% and 75% respectively, while robberies at homes were unchanged.
However, according to the stats, attempted murder was down by 56%, assault with grievous bodily harm by 21%, common assault by 12%, aggravated robbery by 26%, common robbery by 25%, sexual crimes by 33%, rape by 37%, shoplifting by 5%, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition by 83%, and possession of stolen property by 43%.
Colonel Mbangu said he could not give the actual number of cases only percentages and he conceded that the stats might not be a true reflection of what happened in the community because they only showed those crimes that had been reported to the police.
None of the Athlone residents who spoke at the meeting wanted to give their names, saying they feared for their safety.
An Athlone man said the statistics were not an accurate picture of what residents endured daily.
“We are here to hear what you are going to do about it by being proactive.”
A man from Silvertown said the police could not be trusted and criminals were arrested and then released the following day.
“How soon will they be taken to justice? Police can’t do their job.”
A Belgravia High School teacher said criminals saw pupils as soft targets.
“We need a police officer here at school in the morning. When we get to school a number of incidents are reported. Our kids are soft targets. I’m asking if possible to patrol between 6am and 8am from 5th to 7th Avenue.”
In response, a Belgravia woman said schoolchildren made themselves targets by walking around with their cellphones and buying drugs before going to class.
“I tell them put away your phones, stop walking around and go to school but they are so rude. But parents think they are innocent. They are stopping and getting drugs before they come to school.”
Colonel Mbangu said it was unfair for residents to accuse the police of not doing their jobs if they were not prepared to report crimes. He added that the station had 161 officers but needed more than 200.
“We need you to report crimes. Stats are what people report. We are patrolling through the night. Immediate steps to combat crime will include vehicle checkpoints, monitoring escape routes, stop and search, observation of hot-spot houses, profiling suspects, and neighbourhood watch deployment. Be part of the solution. Don’t only blame the police. If you see anything wrong, alert us. Police must be visible.”
A Belgravia man said cable theft and other crimes happened daily, and he suggested deploying police officers through avenues in Belgravia.
“Give us seven officers and rotate them. Walk through the avenues, search guys on corners. Get your communication right. Use your budget properly. If you walk the streets, people can’t say you are not present.”
A Belgravia woman said the police needed to get rid of corrupt officers, and she accused the ward councillor of not being there for the community.
“You need to come into Belgravia houses and see how poor we are. You don’t come see if we are okay, but when it’s voting time, we must be there for you.”
Belgravia ward councillor Aslam Cassiem said he regularly patrolled the Vlei and Vygieskraal with neighbourhood watches. He claimed residents were hesitant to join the watches.
“We have been looking at housing opportunities for residents from the Vlei, but so many others have now come into the Vlei so it is difficult to see who are the original people from the area and who has come in,” he said.
“The council is looking at housing opportunities, and social development, but the police deal with crime and safety.
“Street lights are being vandalised regularly but get vandalised again. Residents mentioned that when roads are dark that’s when crime happens. Law Enforcement hopes to install cameras which hopefully will deter crime.”
Sinazo Mbandazyo, from the Vygieskraal squatter camp, responded, saying: “You are lying all the time. What services have you brought for us? We have fires and what have you done? We call, email, message, but nothing. Our children are traumatised. When have you brought social development to us?”