Melvin Jonkers, chairperson, Grassy Park Community Police Forum
Many houses in the Grassy Park precinct are not numbered, and this poses a serious threat to policing.
In the past, there have been many complaints about the police ignoring complaints or driving past a house where a complaint was received, but houses that are not numbered can have an impact on police response times.
The police can also end up searching the wrong house and this can have serious repercussions. This is exactly what happened two weeks ago in our precinct.
The police received a tip-off that foreign nationals were manufacturing fake honey at a premises in Fifth Avenue. However, it is now believed that the police went into the wrong house at first. The owner is now suing the police for wrongful search and seizure. This could have been prevented if the respective properties were numbered properly.
The law allows for the municipality to direct the owner of a property to display the property’s number and, in exceptional circumstances, prescribe the position where it should be displayed. The owner can also be directed to replace or repair a number that has become illegible.
The Grassy Park Community Police Forum encourages homeowners to ensure that their properties are clearly numbered as this will help law-enforcement agencies respond in good time to complaints and emergencies.