Police Minister Bheki Cele is continuing his visits to crime hotspots around the country. Winterveldt, north of Pretoria was under the spotlight on Thursday.

Cele has committed to a renewed fight against crime in the area. He spoke during the official launch of the Dube Police Station in the township.

Winterveldt residents say they live in fear of crime ranging from house breaking, robbery and hijacking.

After years of construction, residents have welcomed the official opening of their police station.

“We are happy because reporting crime will be easy, we don’t have to go far,” says one of the residents.

Despite the services they got from other police stations the Minister emphasised the need for the community to have their own.

“The call is made by the people of South Africa to say we want to be safe. We want to work with the police. We want the police to be in the middle of the communities. This station is one of the state of the art. Usually we expect this in Houghton, in Sandton. To find it here many people say that we are beginning to exaggerate, we’re saying we are beginning to open the facilities where they belong.”

Gauteng Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane urged the community to restrain from burning the police station and other government buildings while embarking on protests.

“This police station should be used to report crime, report matters affecting this community. Please don’t burn the police station when you are protesting for service delivery. This police station is for crime and crime matters alone.”

Dube residents, Kromkuil and the surrounding areas will benefit from this state of the art building.