Durban - KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Sipho Hlomuka, said the mobilising of community structures in the fight against crime would be a key talking point at the KZN Community Crime Fighting Association’s (KZN CCPA) annual general meeting (AGM) today.
The department said in a statement yesterday that the meeting, which brings together community crime fighting structures, will deliberate on strategies that can be adopted by communities to fight crime in their areas.
According to the department, the focus of the AGM is to assist the police in decreasing key categories of crime, including murder, rape and gender-based violence.
In addition, the department said, there would also be a focus on the integrated interventions in 10 police stations in the province, which have been identified as crime hot spots.
The MEC said it was important to mobilise community structures to support the work of the police and other law enforcement agencies.
“Voluntary crime-fighting organisations are important in augmenting the work of the police. We need strong community structures and active citizenry if we are to win the battle against crime,”he said.
Hlomuka said rural crime would also be discussed at the AGM..
“Importantly, we want to address the escalating levels of crime such as murder, rape and other forms of crime. We will also discuss interventions designed to assist the 10 leading stations which are also featured on the national top station. The issue of rural crime and allocation of resources is also important in this gathering. Ours is to come up with plans to make the difference and secure our communities,” said the MEC.
The meeting will be held at the Gateway Hotel in Durban.