Cape Town - Kraaifontein community leaders say despite the area’s violence track record the community is well on its way to overcoming its difficulties.
According to the Kraaifontein Community Development Forum, residents are set on turning the tide on violent crime.
The forum was speaking to the Cape Argus after the murder and robbery of two shopkeepers in Wallacedene on Saturday, and the robbery of a local liquor store the previous week.
The forum’s secretary, Louis Botha, said while recent stats of violent crimes had shown a 40% decrease, business extortion that had mostly been heard of in other communities had begun take off in Kraaifontein.
Botha said: “Violent crimes which involve knife stabbings are still a major concern. Domestic violence-related crimes have lessened. However, areas like Scottsville and Scottsdene remain hotspots for gang-related crimes.
“The extortion of businesses in the CBD remains a challenge. Criminals are extorting money from businesses in our community, especially foreign national businesses.
“To bring this to an end, we are now in the process of developing sector-based safety plans. These are due by the end of May 2021. We have prioritised 8 crime areas. We believe additional government resources will be made available once our safety plan is ready for implementation,” said Botha.
Kraaifontein CPF chairperson Rob Bissette said: “We as the CPF will not tolerate this extortion in our community and will work with residents to assist to bring the culprits to book.
“A month ago we were among the top murder stations in the country, and now we have moved down to sixth in the country. This shows that the community is winning by standing together and reporting the crime to the right channels.”