Strandfontein’s newly appointed police station commander Captain David Malong has vowed to intensify police visibility in the community to curb crime.
However, Captain Malong, 48, said police could not fight crime alone, especially with limited resources, and he urged residents to play their part.
“We have only four vans at the station. And we can’t be everywhere at the same time. I need a community police forum, a neighbourhood watch and other relevant community stakeholders to come on board.”
He plans to lead from the front and set an example in meeting his obligation to keep the peace in the area. He also wants to see sector commanders forging connections with the community.
“We have two sectors, which is Old Strandfontein and Bayview, and we have four shifts, and in each shift, I’m intending to take two officers and form a crime-prevention unit,” he said.
Robbery and burglary are the main crimes plaguing the area, he said.
“We need a strategic deployment of members to conduct stop and searches. And our hot spot for robbery is on the bus route, particularly in the morning when people are going to work, while house breaking is mainly occurring in Bayview.”
Drug crimes are also a priority, and Captain Malong has already launched several searches at suspected drug houses, but he said more work was needed to smoke out the main suppliers.
“We need to find out where (the drugs) come from and who brings them in. And we need intelligence on that,” he said.
Captain Malong has been with the police for 29 years and has worked at several stations including Simon’s Town, Fish Hoek, Ocean View, Kirstenbosh, Muizenberg and Wynberg. He was the station commander at Ocean View SAPS for two years and an acting station commander at Simon’s Town SAPS for eight months.