{"id":49133,"date":"2023-08-01T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T04:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/dramatic-shift-in-crime-in-grassy-park-precinct-20230801\/"},"modified":"2025-03-19T21:11:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T19:11:05","slug":"dramatic-shift-in-crime-in-grassy-park-precinct-20230801","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/dramatic-shift-in-crime-in-grassy-park-precinct-20230801\/","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic shift in crime in Grassy Park precinct"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With only 27% of South Africans trusting the police, coupled with an increase in poverty and unemployment, major crimes in the Grassy Park policing precinct have spiked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to renowned criminologist Dr Irvin Kinnes, who spoke at a workshop hosted by Grassy Park Police on Saturday 22 July, crime is shifting dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCrime is shifting dramatically, and all crime is going to become digital eventually and the levels of violent crime in the country, in the past year, has increased for all major crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added, according to stats for Grassy Park Police Station sexual offences have become a \u201chuge problem\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn fact, Grassy Park has reached the top 30 in some crime categories provincially and nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to fighting crime a broader approach with the cooperation of police and communities working together was needed, says Kinnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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<\/p>\n

Criminologist Dr Irvin Kinnes.PHOTO: Supplied<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn some communities, like Nyanga and Khayelitsha, they do not want to work with police because the level of trust in police according to the national crime surveys and victims\u2019 surveys is that only 27% of the population trust the police. The public trust in the police is very low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe often think that the police must get intelligence from gangs, but in today\u2019s world, the gangs have informants inside the police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy own research has begun to show that where the police are supposed to recruit informants inside the gang, the gangs are recruiting informants inside the police.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the level of professionalism and trust in the police were also in decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have police officers who swear at members of the public, so the level of professionalism is declining. When people don\u2019t have somewhere to report to, they go to gangsters because they can resolve their problems very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPolice and members of the community are being recruited by gangs. If you look at one of the biggest murder trials currently taking place, the Modack case, a police officer was also arrested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also have people, in our communities, who are corrupt and have people who come to forums like this to take information back to criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nafiz Modack, the alleged underworld kingpin, was arrested last year on several charges, including murder and fraud. He is currently on trial in the Western Cape High Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, an increase in firearms and drugs found on the streets of Grassy Park may point to the high levels of poverty and unemployment in the area, says Kinnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Grassy Park drugs and firearms are prevalent, and the level of firearms being found by police has increased. The fact that police are finding more drugs means there are more drugs and firearms available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe level of poverty has increased, and the level of unemployment has increased. Access to the city, to business and transport, all those opportunities are shrinking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kinnes warned when opportunities declined, and government services are withdrawn it creates an opportunity for gangs to step in and take charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you go to certain parts of the community, for example, the flats in Ottery, you ask yourself when you walk through there: has the government abandoned these communities? You get the sense that there is abandonment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen government withdraws services from the community such as schools and housing then other people take over that role. You find that it is the criminal underworld that sees an opportunity in making services available at your own expense,\u201d says Kinnes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schools and children have become the new targets for gangs to operate, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildren have to walk through certain areas to get to school and it\u2019s into gang areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildren are identified based on where they live. They walk with kids who are associated with a gang but do not know that because they are just friends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grassy Park Police Station Commander Col Dawood Laing said the workshop was the first of many to empower the community on ways to tackle crime collectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy holding this workshop today, we want to empower the teachers and community to be able to consult better when people seek help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes our schools have their hands full because they don\u2019t know how to help their learners.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With only 27% of South Africans trusting the police, coupled with an increase in poverty and unemployment, major crimes in the Grassy Park policing precinct have 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shift in crime in Grassy Park precinct | People's Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/dramatic-shift-in-crime-in-grassy-park-precinct-20230801\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dramatic shift in crime in Grassy Park precinct\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With only 27% of South Africans trusting the police, coupled with an increase in poverty and unemployment, major crimes in the Grassy Park policing precinct have spiked.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/dramatic-shift-in-crime-in-grassy-park-precinct-20230801\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"People's Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" 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