Drugs, crime, alcohol, theft and anti-social behaviour are still plaguing Musgrave Park and Steurhof, say residents who met last week to discuss crime and grime.
But if their descriptions of crime are accurate, it appears very few cases are being reported to the police, who say their statistics for the precinct tell a different story to the one told by the community.
Steurhof resident Alexis Serra organised the meeting – held at the South Peninsula High hall on Thursday March 22 – citing ongoing concerns about crime (“Street plagued by drugs,” January 19, 2017).
City law enforcement director, Robbie Roberts, spoke to the 160-odd residents who attended.
However, Steurhof resident and Plumstead Neighbourhood Watch (PNW) patroller, Lowena Carolus, said she believed many people had stayed away from the meeting because they felt intimidated.
Musgrave resident Leon Tejarda claimed drugs were being sold in Steurhof and used by children who were stealing to feed their addictions, but parents seemed to ignore the problem.
He said he had seen children of about 12 to 16 years of age smoking in Francis Road when they should have been at school.
He claimed some of the council houses were being occupied illegally or had been turned into drug dens and that City housing authorities had failed to act on his complaints about that.
Steurhof resident Jean van Schalkwyk said seniors were being victimised and told to be quiet. “Be extremely careful, keep gates and doors closed as there are people walking around Musgrave with knives,” she said.
Musgrave Park is managed by social-housing agency Communicare and its portfolio manager, Mapule Maragela, who was at the meeting, said 15 incidents of unsavoury behaviour had been reported to the organisation butno serious crime.
“We are not aware of other incidents but encourage residents to report the crime to the police and provide us with a case number so that we can follow up and investigate,” she asked residents.
Diep River acting station commander, Captain Ansley Jacobs, also played down residents’ fears about crime, saying that of the 2338crimes reported in the Diep River precinct, from April 1 2017 to February 28 this year, only 112 – including eight residential burglaries and seven drug-related offences – were reported in Steurhof.
But if their descriptions of crime are accurate, it appears very few cases are being reported to the police, who say their statistics for the precinct tell a different story to the one told by the community.
Steurhof resident Alexis Serra organised the meeting – held at the South Peninsula High hall on Thursday March 22 – citing ongoing concerns about crime (“Street plagued by drugs,” January 19, 2017).
City law enforcement director, Robbie Roberts, spoke to the 160-odd residents who attended.
However, Steurhof resident and Plumstead Neighbourhood Watch (PNW) patroller, Lowena Carolus, said she believed many people had stayed away from the meeting because they felt intimidated.
Musgrave resident Leon Tejarda claimed drugs were being sold in Steurhof and used by children who were stealing to feed their addictions, but parents seemed to ignore the problem.
He said he had seen children of about 12 to 16 years of age smoking in Francis Road when they should have been at school. He claimed some of the council houses were being occupied illegally or had been turned into drug dens and that City housing authorities had failed to act on his complaints about that.
Steurhof resident Jean van Schalkwyk said seniors were being victimised and told to be quiet. “Be extremely careful, keep gates and doors closed as there are people walking around Musgrave with knives,” she said.
Musgrave Park is managed by social-housing agency Communicare and its portfolio manager, Mapule Maragela, who was at the meeting, said 15 incidents of unsavoury behaviour had been reported to the organisation but no serious crime.
“We are not aware of other incidents but encourage residents to report the crime to the police and provide us with a case number so that we can follow up and investigate,” she asked residents.
