The following is an extract from a speech delivered by Athol Trollip at a press conference in Gelvandale, Port Elizabeth, where the DA launched its Safe City vision for Nelson Mandela Bay this morning.
A Democratic Alliance government in Nelson Mandela Bay will tackle crime, shut out gangsterism and root out drugs through The Total Society Approach.
The brutal rape and assault of a 21-year-old woman in PE’s Central this past weekend is a clear indicator of the urgent need for a comprehensive solution to violent crime.
Through this approach we will deliver a Safe City for all who live in Nelson Mandela Bay. This will be done by creating a skilled Metro Police force, supported by CCTV cameras in crime hot-spots and improved lighting in dangerous areas.
While NMB pays a “Metro Police Chief” over R1 million per year, there is currently not a single officer on the beat which shows how un-seriously the ANC government thinks of crime in our Metro.
Through a Total Society Approach the DA will end the ANC’s soft-hand on crime and we will prevent and fight the rising tide of crime in NMB.
To turn the tide on crime and drugs, the DA will:
- Establish a fully functional, skilled Metro Police force with specialised anti-gang, anti-drug, metal and cable theft units. The Metro Police will make visible and regular patrols to improve safety where our citizens feel unsafe and unprotected.
- We will expand CCTV camera networks and repair faulty cameras immediately. Cameras will be managed and monitored by a fully functional 24-hour Joint Operation Centre which will have direct communications with the SAPS and Metro Police Force. A centre of this nature has already been successfully established in the City of Cape Town with outstanding results.
- We will establish a dedicated cable and electricity theft unit to keep NMB well lit. Improved street lighting can prevent crimes that thrive under the cover of darkness. The ongoing maintenance and rapid repair of high-mast lights and working street lights will also create safer communities.
- The DA will implement a ‘problem buildings by law’ to ensure that we shutdown hide outs for criminal. We will also clamp down on illegal liquor outlets that fuel violent crime, through Metro Police patrols and policing.
- Through regular bush clearing a DA government will eradicate overgrown areas which serve as hide outs for criminals.
- The DA government will lobby to have National SAPS crime statistics made available on a regular basis, so that police can be allocated based on need.
- We will establish partnerships with civil society, business and labour to encourage active citizen participation in combating crime, and will reward tip-offs and policing help.
Fundamentally, the DA will create The Total Society Approach to crime where all role players function together through regular forums. This regular communication will promote solutions- and outcomes-focused collaboration to develop crime-prevention policies and strategies.
While 80% of NMB residents feel unsafe after dark, the DA would work tirelessly to make every citizen feel safe after dark.
Opportunities to get ahead in life cannot continue to be stolen by gangsters and criminals who own more and more of our streets.
In a Safe City, residents should trust their government to safeguard every aspect of their community’s welfare.
The DA is set on winning Nelson Mandela Bay to turn the tide on crime and gangsterism and build a Metro that looks after its residents.
Alan Straton
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