Extortion growing fast, says Community Safety MEC

There are four types of extortion in the province and two of them are especially common in Philippi, where murder cases climbed 70% in the first quarter of the year, says Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Anroux Marais.

Speaking at a prayer gathering organised by the Philippi East police station and faith groups at Beautiful Gate on Thursday October 24, Ms Marais said extortion was growing fast.

In Philippi, a form of extortion sometimes called “extra tax” was very well known, and it was when tsotsis went from house to house to collect money, she said, adding that they would harm or kill those who did not pay and their families.

Another form of extortion prevalent in Philippi was when pavement hawkers were forced to pay money to criminals or else they were physically harmed and had their products stolen.

The construction mafia and the protection rackets operating in nightclubs and bars were the two other forms of extortion, she said.

While Philippi East police precinct was not a large area, it housed thousands of people and it had the fastest growing crime rate in the province with murders rising by 71% in the first quarter of the year, she said.

Because most people in the precinct lived in cramped settlements with few formal streets it was hard for the police to locate crime scenes, she said.

The high influx of people into an already overcrowded area made spatial planning almost impossible, but, despite that, people would not be forced to move from the area, she said, adding that those days had long passed.

The number of Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (LEAP) officers officers deployed in the precinct had been doubled at the beginning of last month, she said.

“What we have seen is that the increase in the murder rate has been brought down. Surely not by enough, but we can see that a difference is being made.

“We moved these LEAP officers to Philippi because we care about every person in Philippi and because the data showed that it was needed.

“Although we cannot direct the police’s operations, I know that Philippi is a high priority to them. But the police cannot do it alone.

“The police need eyes and ears in the community and indeed the people of Philippi must be the eyes and ears of the police. Whenever we see something which is not right, we must report it to the police. We cannot expect the police to beat crime if we do not report it.”

She added that in order for criminals to be prosecuted, it was vital for witnesses from the community to come forward and provide evidence.