Police and Thohoyandou residents join hands in crime awareness campaign

Alarmed by the rise in criminal activities such as rape and the prevalence of domestic violence in the area, police under the Thohoyandou Cluster have embarked on a campaign to inform communities about the crimes.

Last Wednesday, they held an awareness campaign at the Indoor Sports Centre in Thohoyandou. During the meeting, members of the community were given time to ask questions pertaining to crime and cases.

The convener of the meeting, Capt Mashudu Mapfumo of the Thohoyandou Social Crime Prevention Unit, said they were worried as police about the drastic rise in crimes such as rape and domestic violence in the area. "The crime rate in our area is unacceptable. We cannot allow our area to be ruled by criminals and we know that, as the police alone, it would be a mammoth task for us to beat crime,” Mapfumo said.

Mr Justice Thovhogi, a member of the Thohoyandou Cluster Policing Forum, said he was excited that people came in their numbers for the function. “We are happy that you made it to this function, which means that the message will spread and filter to many in the community. Crime can be beaten. If we work together with the police, these crimes will decrease and we will have a crime-free environment,” he said.

The guest speaker, Lt Col Malindi Mosena of the Thohoyandou Crime Prevention unit, urged parents to raise their children in a responsible manner. "Crime fighting starts in the family. If we teach our children good morals and make them laws that will make them responsible people, they can beat this crime of rape and others like domestic violence. We have to lead by example as parents that domestic violence is not the way to live, and they will follow us," he said.

News - Date: 06 March 2013

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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