Dear Charles It is one of the big questions, but as I state in my reply: the squatters are on ground belonging to the big property owners in the area, Intersite, Metrorail, Propnet, City Council and Provincial Government and the like. They just keep passing the buck to each other regarding this problem and in the meantime nothing happens.
It is not the fault of the police. They can only evict or move, when there is a proper court order in place. The private property owners mentioned above need to take action here. I know that Woodstock Improvement District and CPF are trying to put pressure on them to do so, but the wheels are turning slowly. Regards Teun 2009/4/20 Charles Coetzee <[email protected]> > Dear TEUN, > > Thanks for this, but I think the most important thing about the article > is WHY ARE THESE SQUATTERS ALLOWED TO BE LIVING WHERE THEY ARE, IN OUR AREA, > AND OBVIOUSLY CAUSING A PROBLEM? Can something not be done about this, > moving them? They seem to be the squatters who were along the N1, who have > moved into Woodstock, when the company, operating on that site, moved them > out. > > Or am I wrong? > > Charles Coetzee > > > > -----Original Message----- > *From:* Teun Baartman [mailto:[email protected]] > *Sent:* Monday, 20 April 2009 10:06 AM > *To:* Angelique Marie van Niekerk; Anthony Sloan; Sandy Buchanan; Adri-Ann > Peters; Anthony Leak; Ann-Marie Heneke; Julia Bedford; Lee Van Den Berg; > Erika Brown; Birgit Wager; Brett Murray; Brian Gray; Bruce Beyer; Cedric > Thomas; Chris Lloyd; [email protected]; Carla Swanson; Charles > Coetzee; Nicolette Dirk; Edmund Ronne; Elad Kirshenbaum; > [email protected]; Nadeem Essack; Ernest Ford; Frank Spencer; Firepetals; > Fiona; Frieda Luhl; [email protected]; Hannes Potgieter; Roger > Hislop; Lee Harris; Nils Hansen; Jaqui Hewett; Zubaida Hattas; Hannere > Jooste; Heather Tager; Muneeb Hendricks; Thys Hattingh; Ingrid Baumgarten; > [email protected]; diane ormrod; Jan Verboom; Garth Jellars; > Bentley Jeftha; Keith Loynes; Ky Pulvermacher; [email protected]; Roland > Langley; Mayor; Marije Pierson; Mark Seidel; Monique Duval; Morkel Malherbe; > Nic Truman-Baker; Mary Ann Naidoo; Max Ozinsky; [email protected]; > [email protected]; Gayle; Patric van Blerk; Renen Watermeyer; Renen > Watermeyer; Rudolf Wiltshire; Rosalind Watermeyer; Richard Randall; Till > Manecke; Tina Smith; [email protected]; Zaitoun Lawrence; > [email protected] > *Subject:* Response to "Woodstock crime soars" article in Weekend Argus > > > > Dear all > > > > Below is the response I (as chairperson of the Woodstock Community Police > Forum) sent to the Weekend Argus to their rather one-sided article about > Woodstock police (see attached). I am sending this also to as many people as > possible, because I feel that this article needs to be put in the right > perspective. If you agree, please feel free to pass it on. > > > > Kind regards > Teun Baartman > > *Response to “Woodstock crime soars” (Weekend Argus, 18 Apr. 09)* > > As Chairperson of the Woodstock Community Police Forum (WCPF) I would like > to respond to the article “Woodstock crime soars” in the Weekend Argus of 18 > April 2009, so that the rather narrow and one-sided view of the writer and > the business owners referred to in the article can be put in the right > perspective. > > It is the job of the Community Police Forum to monitor the police service > in the area and we can state without hesitation that the Woodstock police > are working extremely hard at reducing crime. The police are constantly > keeping abreast of crime patterns and device their crime fighting strategies > accordingly. There is good police visibility in the area and they make > better use of modern technology to link suspects to crimes. > > But it is a well-known, well-researched and well-established fact that the > police cannot do their job without the help of the community. The Community > Police Forum has monthly meetings. Both SAPS and the organisations that form > part of the Forum have done their best to publicise contact details of > Woodstock SAPS and Patrol Vehicles to the community in the local press and > via public meetings. > > It must be stressed that in most parts of the Woodstock precinct great > strides have been made in reducing crime by an excellent co-operation > between community and police. Therefore the article is by no means a true > reflection of the entire Woodstock precinct as the headline implies. On the > whole and through the hard work of residents in the area, Woodstock is > turning the tables tremendously on the negative image of the past. > > However there are still parts of the community, which are not coming to the > party. The area (Lower Woodstock) that the article refers to is a typical > example of this. The Sector Forum (a body in which police and community work > together) in this sector basically only has one community member, because > residents are refusing to get involved. There is no active civic > organisation, like in other parts of the precinct. When public meetings are > held, very few people show up. > > Business owners are the worst culprits and show no interest at all in what > is going on. There isn’t a Business Forum. I don’t know any of the business > owners mentioned in this article, because none of them has ever approached > the Community Police Forum to complain about police service or to sit > together with us and work on a strategy to fight crime. It is typical that > one of the business owners states that they caught a person who stole a > handbag and “had to bribe them to get the back bag” instead of taking the > guy to the police station (which is practically next door to them) or > calling the police. Did nobody have a cell phone, so that they at least > could have taken a photo of the perpetrator? > > As is clear from this example it is a fact that people are not reporting > crime, opening cases and supporting the police in the follow up, because a > lot of people withdraw their statements again or refuse to testify in court. > How can they then expect the police to deal with the criminals effectively? > > It is all very well for residents and business owners to complain about > crime levels to the press, but they themselves sit back and do nothing, > while expecting things to happen. I would urge these people to get involved > with the Police Forum, Sector Forum and SAPS, and stand together. Only an > organised effort is going to make a difference. > > Adding to all this I can write long stories about a Justice system, which > is failing us miserably and does not prosecute criminals. I can go on > about Metro Police, which is basically non-existent in the Woodstock area > and in any case “don’t know what they are doing” (a statement made this week > by City councillors, with which I wholeheartedly agree). I can say that big > property owners in the area - like City Council, Intersite, Portnet and > Metrorail - are refusing to do anything about the shack dwellers on their > properties referred to in the article. Unfortunately the police cannot do > anything without the proper legal back up. > > The message is clear. The police can not do it all on their own. Other > role-players need to step up and get involved. Don’t just criticise the > police for not doing enough, while refusing to do anything yourself or > getting involved. > > Residents and business owners can contact me for more information. I would > also be interested to hear their suggestions on how to improve the > situation. I can be contacted on 083 298 1009 or [email protected]. > > > -- Teun Baartman 083 298 1009 021 448 3584 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
