Pretoria central station commander leads crime blitz
Several vehicles were impounded on the R55 near Olievenhoutbosch in Pretoria on Thursday as Pretoria central police cluster commander, Major-General Daniel Mthombeni led an extensive crime combating “Operation Paseka”.
This is really to ensure that we carry out our mandate in terms of the Constitution. We have to create a safe and secure environment, we have to ensure that there is public order and we have to bring perpetrators to the courts,” Mthombeni told African News Agency.
“We have to investigate crime in order to also ensure that we bring perpetrators to book. Our activities are coupled with the National Development Plan which the government has made. We are trying to ensure that commuters are safe.”
Mthombeni’s SA Police Service officers, working closely with members of the Tshwane Metro Police and Gauteng Traffic officers, stopped and searched numerous vehicles on the busy road. Motorists were also searched thoroughly.
Mthombeni said Operation Paseka is divided into four policing priorities.
“One of the concepts is the roadblocks. We are going to be manning the roadblocks at two places within the Pretoria region.
Secondly, we are addressing drug trafficking in terms of the Drug Trafficking Act. We zoomed into different areas within our nine policing precincts of this cluster,” said Mthombeni.
“Thirdly, we are focusing on the by-laws within the city and secondhand goods. Lastly, we are looking at generators of the crime in our area. We look at places where people go drinking and the likes.
With these four concepts, we are surely carrying out our mandate.”
Taxi passenger Tami Zwane said the police intervention was welcomed in an area characterised by rampant crime and violence.
“I wish they do this everyday. I don’t feel safe with the way taxis speed when police are not here. We cannot tell the taxi drivers what to do.
They intimidate us when we voice our concerns,” said Zwane.
For a group of secondary school students left stranded after their taxi was impounded, the police operation was “taking things too far”.
“We are just innocent learners going for a leadership development programme in Mpumalanga. Now we don’t know what to do.
If all these police officers leave, we will be robbed on this roadside,” said Olievenhoutbosch Secondary School student Smanga Zwane.
Fellow student, Sylvester Mhaule was equally frustrated.
“Since we are only a group of students, the police would have at least allowed the taxi to take us to our destination before impounding it Issues of road permits are something we don’t understand but it’s now affecting us.”