Members of the Tshwane metropolitan police will not take leave in order to tackle crime effectively during the festive season.
This was announced by advocate Kamela Kekana at the launch of the festive-season operation plan for the Tshwane metro police in Pretoria on Thursday.
The metro police will focus mainly on road policing aimed at reducing the number of fatal accidents, crime prevention and by-law transgression. This will see the metro police increasing visibility in areas most frequented by shoppers.
”We will be adopting a zero-tolerance approach during this period,” Kekana said.
Metro police chief Hlula Msimang said metro police will be highly visible of in shopping centres. ”We will work together with security and management of shopping centres to ensure a safe environment for shoppers.”
Metro police have identified hot spots where shoppers are prone to attacks and those areas will be targeted. ”I don’t want to create an illusion that the metro police will be stationed at the hot spots all the time, but we will make the necessary interventions,” Msimang said.
On why people are given tickets for parking in shopping centres, he said people must observe the law and rules no matter where they are. ”Going to a shopping centre doesn’t give a person the right to park anywhere.”
The metro police have set a target of reducing road fatalities by 15%, contact crime by 1% and by-law transgressions by 90%.
Msimang admitted there are not enough metro police officers, but that does not stop them from doing their job effectively. ”The number of officers will be doubled by 2009, and the 120 recruits for this year will be available for work during this festive season,” he said. — Sapa