Crime Decreases In Monarch
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday January 30, 2017 14:42
Monarch has been for a long time been one of the crime-infested low-income locations of the city. It seems things are changing for the better.
Speaking during a Kgotla meeting at Monarch customary court recently, Maniki said that atrocious crimes especially murder, robbery, house breaking and others in the location declined last year.
He said last year they registered one single murder case against three murder of the previous year. Compared to 57 from the previous year, Maniki said in 2016, they registered 38 cases of burglary and theft, and house breaking from 32 cases to only nine.
“The police statistics indicate that there is a decline in store breaking after recording 28 cases in 2015 as compared to only 21 cases in 2016,” Maniki said.
He added that four cases of attempted murder were recorded in 2016 as compared to seven in 2015. There was also a slight decreases in rape cases, which came down by six to 20 registered.
Maniki, however, raised a concern about the rise in petty crimes such as common nuisance, assault common to mention but a few.
“We waste time and police resources attending to these minor offences,” he said, appealing for behavioural change.
The station commander disclosed that they have a community policing cluster, which played a major role in fighting crime in the locality.
He appealed to the community to stop purchasing stolen goods as it opens an unnecessary market for stolen goods. He warned the residents that stealing and retaining stolen goods was a crime.
Maniki said that the residents of Monarch should also avoid harbouring illegal immigrants as the trend fuels crime in the community.
“We are concerned about the high number of illegal immigrants in your area. In the past years we recorded over 2,000 illegal immigrants in your area,” he said.
He reminded the residents about the ban of illegal shebeens and bottle stores operating within their homes.
He labeled the illegal shebeens as the major contributors to crime as they operate beyond stipulated operating hours.