By John Travolter Matali
OMUTHIYA – Regional police spokesman Warrant-Officer Iseskar Arachab says community policing will help change the public’s distorted view of law enforcement.
He says the public’s negative view of policing today is the result of the past apartheid policies.
“Community policing in my view is very relevant because it involves members of the public and the community. By involving the community the barrier between law enforcement and the community is breached as it destroys the distance. We want to put an end to the infamous terms such as ‘them’ and ‘us’ these are terms used by communities to describe the police and themselves,” said Arachab.
The language being used by the community was described by Arachab as being antagonistic in the pursuit of justice.
“The suggestion boxes in town are but one of the methods we as police have implemented in an effort to bring the community and members of the public on board in the fight against crime,” he added.
“The community regards the police as enemies and view their presence as a disturbance due to predetermined assumptions, which are mostly the direct result of the apartheid regime. In the past police would only come into the community in search of suspects, often beating information out of them. In reality beating one member of a community tarnishes the image of law enforcement everywhere because he or she is connected to the community as a whole,” explained Arachab.
“We as police today feel the need to interact and involve the community even in the absence of crime. We want people to look at us as peacemakers. We want to educate people about the consequences of ignoring crime and harbouring criminals – today they mug someone else but tomorrow the same criminals will mug your children,” he added.