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Dirty needles, used condoms, drug dealing and consumption is what residents at the once quaint De Oude Spruit dam in Protea Heights now face.
What was once a carefree playground for the neighbourhood’s children has become a no-go zone.
Concerned citizens say what is going on at the park is shocking, and if continued will damage the area on the long run.
What is more perplexing to the community, is their feeling of utter helplessness in tackling the issue in what the deem to be the absence of effective law enforcement.
According to residents, illegal activities have been reported to the City’s law enforcement and police numerous times, but no arrests have been made.
Meeting at dam
In a call for action, they met at the dam last Monday evening.
Their concerns centre around a suspected drug runner who lives nearby De Oude Spruit park.
“Needles have been found on around the dam and suspicious behaviour noticed by numerous community members.
“The man is dealing drugs in the park next to the dam. He will walk down to the field, sit there and a car will stop or someone meets him.
He hands something to them and then walks back home or remains sitting there there depending on the activity in the park,” says a spokesperson for the residents action group Lea-Anne Steyn.
“We suspect he also leaves drug parcels for buyers to pick up, as there are times when he goes up then goes back home again, and a car will stop at the dam, someone gets out for a bit and then leaves later. This attracts unwanted characters to the area that spend extended periods of time parked illegally on the red line at the field playing music loud from their vehicles, consuming drugs and alcohol and then driving recklessly down the streets.”
Children at risk
Residents suspect the same man to also be dealing drugs among the youth in the area. Steyn, says the police and the City’s law enforcement are fully aware of the situation, but yet no action has been taken.
“The police say they are not allowed to just search someone, and by the time they get there it is too late to catch the culprits red handed. So their hands are pretty tied. The told us they need footage, so us as a community need to apparently do their jobs for them because they cannot put a plan together with the community to actually reach a solution,” she says. Director of C-Max Security Carla Lourens points out that illegal activities at the dam is getting worse and is posing a danger to especially the children who do still come out to the park.
“We have found heaps of used needles, and drugs are regularly changing hands in the open. Burglaries have increased and residents have had enough. It is going to turn ugly soon. As a security company we can only do that much,” she says.
Police aware of problem
In response to a media inquiry, Brackenfell Community Police Forum stated that they are aware of the activity at De Oude Spruit Dam, and share in the concerns of the community.
“We can confirm that Brackenfell police are currently treating this complaint as a top priority, because it directly affects the safety of the community around De Oude Spruit. Unfortunately, there are certain protocols set forth to which the police must adhere legally, within their mandate, to ensure a positive outcome for both them and the concerned community. We can confirm that all the necessary role players are attending to this matter,” says CPF chair Norman Landry.
Landry encourages the community to keep reporting any further suspicious behaviour not only pertaining to this matter.
“The more community members get involved by reporting such instances, the stronger we as a community become.”
Station commander at Brackenfell police, Col Johannes Marthinus, says the police are concerned about the current situation at the dam.
“All incidents where the community becomes aware of any incidence of drug dealing, they must report it to police. (If not happy) the complainant should obtain details of the police officers to whom they reported this matter, so that steps can be taken against them,” he said in a statement to TygerBurger.
He advises residents to send any information via email or to contact the police at BrackenfellSAPS@saps.gov.za or 021 980 5729/021 980 5737.
“We as Brackenfell police urge the community to get as much information as possible, to effectively address the threat.”
A member of the City’s safety and security portfolio committee directorate Rhynhardt Bresler says the matter is troubling.
Bresler, also a former police officer, says both the police and the City’s law enforcement officers, who are in essence peace officers, can by law stop and search a person if they have reasonable suspicion that the person is in possession of illegal substances.
“Crime is first and foremost the mandate of the police, but the City’s law enforcement and metro police officers have the powers to do drug arrests. However, they do not have the powers to investigate criminal matters. To catch a drug dealer red-handed, his movements must be carefully observed to see where he hides his wares and who picks it up. If his movements can be carefully monitored, sufficient evidence can be gathered to arrest and prosecute him successfully. By ridding the streets of these offenders, other more serious crimes can be prevented,” he says.
