Durban — With 200 new Durban metro police authorised officers deployed across eThekwini on Tuesday, the municipality has also indicated where the officers will be deployed.
Metro police spokesperson Colonel Boysie Zungu said the boost to the metro police force would go a long way towards increase police visibility and curbing crime.
“In the central region 100 officers have been deployed, of which 90 will be patrolling the CBD for by-law enforcement and street trading compliance, while 10 officers will be deployed to central region suburbs,” the municipality said.
“In the inner west region, 50 officers have been deployed to the Pinetown CBD while 10 will be hitting the streets of the south region.
“In the north region, 20 officers have been deployed to the Verulam CBD and airport. And finally, 20 authorised officers will be assigned to offer specialised tactical support and VIP services,” the municipality said.
Sister publication The Mercury reported that mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said that as part of its efforts to increase police visibility on our streets, the municipality continued to recruit metro police officers with the intention to reach a target of 5 000 law enforcement officers. Currently, there are 200 metro police trainees in college.
Kaunda said that the recruitment of an additional 200 members would soon be completed, and from next year the municipality would be recruiting 400 new police officers annually.
He also said that everyone had a role to play in the fight against crime, pointing out that such a responsibility should not be left solely to the government.
That was the reason the city continued to work with community crime-fighting structures, to mobilise communities to form a united front against crime.
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