Community Policing Forums (CPFs) in Mariannhill are set to discuss the construction of a new police station aimed at enhancing safety and reducing crime in the area.

Feedback on the building of a new Mariannhill olice station is what the CPFs anticipate at a meeting on Monday.

New SAPS department heads will be meeting at the police station, said Reverend Moses Pillay, the chairperson of Nagina CPF Sector 3.

The current police station serves a wide area covering six wards and is operating from park homes. The Mariannhill SAPS also patrols part of KwaNdengezi, Mariannridge, and Dassenhoek.

Pillay said the Nagina CPF has been effective in reducing crime in Sector 3 based on the principles of community policing. This is due to a collaboration between law enforcement and the community to address crime and safety concerns, he added.

Some key strategies that may be part of this plan include:

- Street Sector Policing: Dividing the area into smaller sectors, allowing for more targeted and effective policing.

- Community Engagement: Building relationships with local residents, businesses, and organisations to identify and address underlying causes of crime.

- Problem-Solving Initiatives: Working with the community to develop solutions to specific crime problems, such as substance abuse or gang violence.

- Quick Response to Complaints: Ensuring that police respond promptly to community concerns, helping to build trust and confidence in law enforcement.

“By implementing these strategies, the Nagina CPF has addressed the root causes of crime, building trust with the community, and providing effective and targeted policing,” Pillay said.

In April 2023, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC, Siboniso Duma, recommended the establishment of a multi-agency task team that will fast-track the construction of a new police station in Mariannhill.

Duma stated that Mariannhill has made headlines due to extreme violence and brazen shootings by criminals.

These include five people who were gunned down in a vehicle repair workshop in February 2023, and 14 people killed in separate incidents, which left the community living in fear.

Duma said the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure Development, together with eThekwini Municipality, identified land to build a new police station in Mariannhill.

He said the police station will be a modern facility with advanced technology, which will respond to the provincial government’s resolve to confront crime head-on and close all spaces for criminals.

Pillay said the building of the new police station will have a positive impact on the Mariannhill policing precinct, inclusive of Nagina.

In July 2022, 12 people were shot dead in two separate incidents in Mariannhill. In the first incident, seven people were fatally shot at the Sqhopholozi Tuckshop in Savannah Park. In Dassenhoek, three women and two men were shot dead.

In April 2024, nine suspects were shot and fatally wounded during a shootout with police at Desai, Mariannhill.

Police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said the suspects had been terrorising the residents of Mariannhill and the surrounding areas.

In November 2024, the SAPS shot dead three hijacking suspects in a shootout in Mariannhill. Netshiunda said the trio had hijacked a Hyundai H1, loaded with home appliances on Wednesday.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za