WOODSTOCK Police
say Observatory will see more police visibility now that the
Woodstock precinct has recently received two extra vehicles to their
fleet, bringing the total from 19 vans to 21.
But local crime
watchers were sceptical about the levels of visibility of the police
in the area.
Sergeant Hilton Malila, the media liaison for the precinct, said that more vans will be deployed in the crime plagued areas, including Observatory, which accounts for most of the crime in the Woodstock precinct.
The police station has also received two quad bikes for patrols on Devil’s Peak.
Hilton said that Observatory has two police patrol vans during the day and night, and over weekends, four or five vehicles patrol the area. He said that the vans focus on Polo, Arnold, Cooke and Robins Road because of the high crime volumes in those roads. Hilton said for the same reason, Main Road gets a lot of attention over weekends.
But Frank Schuitermaker, an Obs resident and anti-crime activist, said there is often a discrepancy between what the police promise and what is carried out. He pointed to a recent promise during the anti-drug march in Salt River last month that the Police would patrol inside the Shelley Road Sport Park daily to stop the blatant drug trade there, but during a recent public Community Police Forum meeting complaints emerged that these patrols were not done. He was sceptical about the constant presence of two police vans in Observatory.
Sergeant Hilton Malila, the media liaison for the precinct, said that more vans will be deployed in the crime plagued areas, including Observatory, which accounts for most of the crime in the Woodstock precinct.
The police station has also received two quad bikes for patrols on Devil’s Peak.
Hilton said that Observatory has two police patrol vans during the day and night, and over weekends, four or five vehicles patrol the area. He said that the vans focus on Polo, Arnold, Cooke and Robins Road because of the high crime volumes in those roads. Hilton said for the same reason, Main Road gets a lot of attention over weekends.
But Frank Schuitermaker, an Obs resident and anti-crime activist, said there is often a discrepancy between what the police promise and what is carried out. He pointed to a recent promise during the anti-drug march in Salt River last month that the Police would patrol inside the Shelley Road Sport Park daily to stop the blatant drug trade there, but during a recent public Community Police Forum meeting complaints emerged that these patrols were not done. He was sceptical about the constant presence of two police vans in Observatory.
But Ursula van
Stavel, COO of the Observatory Improvement District, said that she
hears the activity over the radio and the police are very active over
the weekends.
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