KNYSNA NEWS - Hornlee residents are calling for the assistance of the police to help them reclaim their streets from the drug lords. More than 100 Hornlee residents have joined hands to try and clear their community of drugs and crime.
An e-mail from Reverend Ralph Stander of Hornlee Crime Prevention addressed to Knysna Municipality and Knysna police stated that the community of Hornlee formed Hornlee Crime Prevention because they are tired of crime and the people being at the mercy of drug lords.
"We are a community-driven initiative who wants to fight crime in Hornlee and we want to work with the police and authorities," wrote Stander.
He said the houses with containers opposite the entrance to the Knysna Secondary School constitute one of the drug and crime dens. "We would like to have the containers removed with immediate effect and the houses to be taken from those who sell drugs and be used as safe houses for women and children," he said.
According to Stander there are a few houses and containers that need to be removed.
"The children that are meeting there must be removed on a daily basis. We are looking forward to your urgent intervention," he wrote.
Hornlee Crime Prevention convener Renaldo Hunter told Knysna-Plett Herald (KPH) that the community of Hornlee has had enough of crime in their area.
"We have identified the hotspots where criminals are and we want the police to come and assist us. We have had enough with the robberies, rapes and murders in our community. We have noticed all these crimes are drug-related and the only way to fight them is to get rid of drug lords in our area," he said.
Hunter said the community will not take this lying down. "We are a crime prevention group and we will fight the crime that is getting out of hand in our area." He said his son was the latest victim of crime in Hornlee when he was robbed of his cellphone last week.
"They took his cellphone and hit him with a plank," he related.
Southern Cape police spokesperson Capt Malcom Pojie confirmed that the Knysna management has received a letter from Hornlee Crime Prevention.
"The content will be scrutinised and processes will be put in place to assist them to align themselves with community safety structures such as the CPF and neighbourhood watches where they can register," he said.
Pojie strongly advised such groups to slot in with structures such as the above, "structures that have oversight powers in terms of the constitution of our country as well as per prescripts as per the South African Police Act".
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