Umbilo Community Policing Forum’s term ended recently and its chairperson, Heather Rorick, reflected on the role played by the policing forum in combating crime.
Rorick explained that Umbilo SAPS CPF has three sub-sectors. “The executive CPF is responsible for management of community subforums. As chairperson, I have to take complaints against bad service at the police station, following up on queries, working with the community liaison and the station commander and with the SAPS Cluster Board and provincial office,” she said.
“Chairperson is a very busy position, especially with the meetings and functions to attend. It’s also a challenging position as you are the go-to person between the residents and the police. I have to tackle the issue of bad service of the members at the station, which often makes you unpopular with members and also if the community does not see results at a station. The residents often blame the chairperson, not realising that the chairperson has escalated the issues as far as possible and gets just as frustrated as the community when things don’t happen,” Rorick explained.
She said a vice-chairperson presides over all meetings and sits with the executive chairs in management meetings at the station. “The outgoing or current executive CPF was voted in at a very bad time at the station, we got voted in by the whole community at a meeting on 28 November 2018 under a new station commander, Colonel Romer. After being voted, the SAPS went straight into their Festive Season Policing Plan, so the Executive CPF had to literally hit the ground running with no training or guidance whatsoever. Luckily, we had people who were ready and willing to get stuck in. We then had to go through voting, then the resignation of then station commander, who had also spent some time in hospital after an operation. A few months later the country went into Covid, with lockdown restrictions, something no other CPF before us has had to deal with. So being part of the CPF and chair came with a lot of new challenges. After Colonel Romer left we welcomed a new station commander, Colonel Munusamy, who we have worked very well with.”
Rorick said as chairperson she helped with a lot of valuable information that has resulted in good arrests and convictions. “I have assisted in bringing together and getting a good working relationship between Umbilo SAPS, CPF, Metro Police and all security companies. We have worked well with past councillor, Mnabatho Tembe, who was recently inaugurated as a member of the KZN Legislature and as the Umbilo CPF we would like to congratulate her on a job well done and wish her all the best in her future endeavours,” said Rorick.
She said some of the challenges they have faced as the CPF include brothels and prostitution. “We are also working on the problem of student accommodations which are growing by the day in our community. We have battled to get all the necessary departments to all sit down with us in meetings, tackled problematic properties where residents do not adhere to the by-laws, disrupting the peace of others. These are just a few of the challenges we have had,” she added.
