Cape Town – A breakdown in relations between the Woodstock Community Policing Forum (CPF) and the management of the Woodstock police station could have a dire effect on crime-fighting operations in the suburb.
The spat has reportedly become so severe, the CPF has unanimously declared an official dispute with the police.
According to the CPF, efforts to engage with the Woodstock police have proven fruitless. At the heart of the dispute is the allocation of policing and a disagreement over the spreading of resources.
The relationship between CPFs and the police is crucial to combating crime, as the CPF serves as the bridge between communities and the police.
In the past, a breakdown in the relationship between CPFs and the police has led to violent community protests in places like Khayelitsha, Nyanga, Ocean View, Dunoon and Masiphumelele.
The rift between the Woodstock CPF and its police station is something Community Safety MEC Dan Plato, whose department provides oversight on CPFs, will have to tackle in earnest next year.
“We don’t ever want to see what has happened in Khayelitsha again,” Plato said on Wednesday.
“Even if these problems happen from time-to-time, and Woodstock is no exception, we can not allow a situation where there is a hostile relationship between a CPF and police.
"It is one of the first things I will be looking at when we are all back at the office on January 5.”
Woodstock CPF chairman Moosa Sydow said gangsterism and the mismanagement of policing resources had become growing concerns.
“Woodstock is changing, there are great developments going on and people are chasing the money,” Sydow said.
“Our people are made up of all sorts; there are those who are going to say yes, there is money there, we are going to rob and do that and stuff like that.
"The challenge then becomes how do we use our resources to meet and combat those challenges. If you look at the Biscuit Mill for instance; the police's records show there is a lot of (criminal) activity around that area, but, adjacent to that there are also long-standing communities which have their own internal challenges. So, we have to utilise our resources effectively.”
Sydow said efforts to engage with the police had been unsuccessful.
“We must be proactive in how we challenge crime. That is why sector policing is so critical, because we who are on the ground must be able to identify and assist.
"Remember, many of the police members (at the station) are not from the area so we, as the CPF, must be their eyes and ears, but that is where the challenge comes because our input, which we get from the community, is not recognised (by the police's management),” Sydow said.
“There are gangs operating there and the community knows that. I think it would be childish and it would be folly if the police do not recognise the gravity of their part in this partnership.
"If this CPF cannot work with the police or vice versa, then they (police) are going to have to reinvent this whole process, and that will not be advantageous.”
Police spokesman Captain Frederick van Wyk asked Sydow to escalate the CPF’s grievances to the provincial management for further investigation.