The residents of Hlogotlou and the surrounding areas say the newly built Hlogotlou police station at Monsterlus, in Limpopo, will make it easy to access the police service.
Residents say this will help curb crime and that they won’t travel distances to report any form of crime in the area.
Police Minister Bheki Cele has opened a new police station.
#PoliceMinistry Following a brief tree planting and ribbon cutting ceremony, the entourage conducted a tour of the state of the art police station. ME pic.twitter.com/5V3q9PlEfh
— SA Police Service ?? (@SAPoliceService) November 12, 2021
During the engagement with Minister Cele, residents have told him to employ more officers. Residents believe that the new police station will help to curb crime in the area. They also want the police station to be provided with resources such as police vans.
“As a resident of Monsterlus, we have been crying about the youth who are stealing our properties and selling them to scrapyards. Police are not arresting the scrapyard owners when we report these matters to them. Our station doesn’t have enough police vans. A single car usually works for a lot of units in the area. I’m asking the police minister to take care of police reservists and employ them on a permanent basis. Our main challenge here is nyaope and we are asking the police to do something about people who are selling nyaope. Our children and our future soldiers are dying of nyaope this means we don’t have soldiers to protect us in future,” a resident explains.
The new police station will service areas such as Hlogotlou, Mmotwaneng, Jerusalem and the surrounding areas.
In the past, residents relied on a satellite police station that had limited resources. Cele says they built a police station as the crime levels were cause for concern.
“We do have a crime situation here and for now is projected going higher we are working on the police station to bring more police and work on the availability of working equipment like cars the police station has been promoted now to be a lieutenant colonel police station which means there would be more resources,” says Minister Cele.
Cele has called on the police not to turn back victims of crime without being helped.
“You go and arrest that perpetrator. Don’t send her back to negotiate, you’re not a negotiator. Don’t ask the woman if this is the size of the skirts you were wearing it is not your job as police to look at the skirts you’re not a fashion advisor every woman has a right to dress as she wishes,” Cele adds.
The community members have been urged to work closely with the police.
