BENONI
COMMUNITY POLICE FORUM

Established
in terms of Section 18 of the South African Police Act

Benoni
CPF AGM Reportback

The meeting opened at 19h00 with a
welcome to all, including all dignatories, guests and Partners.

The minutes of the previous AGM were
presented and accepted.

Mr. Reza Patel, the Chairperson,
reported back to the Community about the previous year’s
challenges, achievements and Pilot Projects that have been started
and which are about to be implemented. There have been many positive
things happening in Benoni, especially in the relationships built up
with all Partners involved in the fight against crime which include
SAPS, EMPD, Justice, SARS, various Security Companies, The Precinct
Structures (FCP, GNCP, BNCP, etc.). Joint Operations were held
regularly and are also being planned for the near future. He stated
that the CPF has a working relationship with SAPS, EMPD and various
Justice Departments. He also called on the Community to get more
involved with the CPF, no matter what you can offer in terms of time
or funds. A big misconception is that the CPF’s are funded by the
Government.

There were reports given by the
Treasurer, Adam Ahmed, SAPS and EMPD, and in her report, Director
Shirley Venter, gave a rundown of the worst crimes and in which
Sectors these occurred. Benoni CBD was predominantly the highest with
most crimes. This is a major concern and she reiterated that the CBD
is a problem that is being addressed on a daily basis and they need
as much information as possible to assist them. She also gave a
report on arrests and successful convictions in the last year through
the determined work of her Officers and Detectives to bring to book
the criminals that plague our Society.

The Precinct Commander of Benoni
EMPD Precinct could not attend due to unforeseen circumstances, but
stated in their report by Fanie Bensa, that they also work closely
with SAPS and will continue to do so. There is still a shortage of
resources in Benoni Precinct which creates major gaps in the system,
especially for accident scenes etc. This needs to be addressed with
great urgency, as the lawlessness currently existing will continue to
increase to unacceptable levels. He also stated that they had picked
up certain areas where hi-jacked vehicles are taken to and the
tracking systems removed. They will keep on monitoring these areas so
that these criminals can also be brought to justice. Documentation
for drivers of trucks was also a problem and appealed to the public
and businesses to make sure that their drivers were properly
documented, especially the cross-border vehicles.

A request for any questions was put
forward that if anyone had any , they could address them to the
necessary Portfolio Heads, Sector Chairs or with any of the Partners
directly and with there being no other items, the meeting was closed.