Community under Siege: DA wants answers from police

The ongoing reports of rampant violent crime in Muldersdrift are disturbing.

Alyssa Botha, 13, was shot dead last Wednesday. She was the latest victim in a wave of violent crime, in which 93 percent of households on a single street in the community have been targeted. Alyssa's father Anton was also shot in the abdomen and her sister Meghan in the leg.

I will visit the police station in Muldersdrift to assess the response by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the area. I will also evaluate the local visible policing strategy and investigate whether the local police are properly equipped, especially in terms of the number of appropriate vehicles allocated to the area.

I will also request information on the local Community Policing Forum (CPF) and the engagement between the forum and the local SAPS.

All information will be shared with Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Mzwandile Petros and I will request that he address the safety and security needs of the Muldersdrift community as a matter of urgency.

The war on crime in Gauteng must not merely be confined to the major urban centres of the province while those on the outskirts are forgotten and neglected.

Statement issued by Kate Lorimer MPL, DA Gauteng Community Safety Spokesperson, September 11 2012

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