Alcohol and drug abuse have been identified as the largest contributing factor to the high levels of crime in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth.
This is according the National Divisional Commissioner of Visible Policing, Lieutenant-General Nobesuthu Masiya, who was in the area for an awareness campaign against substance abuse on Friday.
The objectives of the campaigns are to encourage community participation in the fight against crime, enhancing the confidence of the public in the police in order to encourage the reporting of potential crimes and actual crimes, and educating community members about their rights as victims of crime.
General Masiye said the government must band together with the community to identify and get rid of crime. "The biggest crime generators in almost all of our communities are that of drug and alcohol abuse. The abuse of the substances more often than not are leading to more serious crimes such as murders, rapes, robberies, assaults, housebreakings, and gangsterism," she said.
Masiye said it was for those reasons that community participation was important to address this issue.
"Furthermore, the situation in New Brighton or any area in the country is not beyond reclamation. The South African Police Service through our national, provincial and cluster initiatives are constantly taking our streets at night and day and significant breakthroughs are made in the illegal alcohol and drug trade," she said.
General Masiye noted that "in the past six months a total of 3784 arrests were made for a variety of crimes including murder, attempted murders, rapes and robberies. She said among those arrested were 683 people arrested for drug related crimes which she said was an indication of the extent of the drug problem in these surrounding areas."
She also said that having the youth at the outreach programme showed that the SAPS was devoted "to capacitating them, which she said would in turn shape the future.
"All young members should remain part of all crime fighting initiatives. Crime is a societal problem and needs every citizen to be involved," said General Masiye.
