“I am here to serve the community of Kensington.” So says Lt Col Delmore Manuel, the new station commander at Kensington Police Station.
Manuel took office on Tuesday 11 April.
officer says his career in the police force started 32 years ago and he has not looked back since.
“I started at Steenberg Police Station as a student. From there, I went to work in Diep River, where I became a sergeant. Next, I went to Wynberg Police Station. I also worked as a captain at Milnerton Police Station. I’ve worked in the anti-gang unit for about two years. Then I returned to Steenberg where I worked as vispol head for the last two years until I was approached to take over in Kensington Police Station.”
Manuel says he aims to rebuild the trust between the police and the community.
“I realised that in order to address the problem in Kensington, which is gangsterism, is to get the team together all working with the same vision and mission. Only if we work towards it, we will be successful. Ever since my arrival, that is what I have been working on, trying to get the team to work together.
“I only see good things happening in Kensington, not because of me but because of the mindset of the officers to realise that they are all here for the same purpose and that is to serve the community of Kensington.”
The officer encourages the community to work with the police.
“We need to change the perceptions of what people think about our officers. Everyone jumps on the bandwagon instead of getting the facts. I have been watching the officers and I can tell you they are working and they are trying. We have our challenges with the lack of staff, but they are still doing what is expected of them with the little resources. Yes, we can improve, but we need to strengthen the partnership with the community.”
Manuel says he wants to establish sector commanders and a social crime officer to address the various crime-related challenges in the area.
The role of a sector commander is to respond to complaints, execute arrests, and be responsible for interacting, consulting and engaging with the community in addressing crime.
“To address gangsterism, we will establish sector commanders so that they can work more closely with the community and be more social crime orientated. We will have more social initiatives so that we can show the children that there is an alternative to gangsterism. At the moment, the children don’t know where to go to. I will be meeting with school principals in the area to address some of the challenges faced at schools.”
Manuel says he will not shy away from disciplining members but says complaints can only be dealt with if residents follow the proper channels.
“These are the members of Kensington, and they are here to do a job. So, whoever is trying to break them down or to make them look bad, I will not stand for that. Because I know they are here to work. If there are persons not doing their job, we will deal with them internally. I don’t want the community to brand every member as a bad person. If you identify one person, come forward and we will deal with that person, but don’t brand the whole station as bad.”
He says police will be working more closely with the neighbourhood watches in the area to ensure more visibility in the hotspot areas.
“My plan is to have all neighbourhood watch members registered and become more active. The sector commanders with the neighbourhood watch will work together to help address crime in the specific sectors. There will be more police visibility going forward.”
According to Manuel, load shedding is a huge contributor to increased crime. He says when there is load shedding their phone lines are inactive.
“This is a national issue. I would encourage people to use the 10111 number. In this way, if there is a complaint and officers didn’t attend, it’s easy for me to investigate and find out who received the complaint and why it wasn’t attended to.
“The national reaction time is 15 minutes for any complaint. They can also get a reference number. As soon as sector commanders are in place their contact details will be shared.”
Manuel urges residents to report all matters. “I fully understand their fear to report things, so if you don’t want to complain to us you can do so anonymously. If it’s regarding one of the officers here at the station or the station commander, report it so that it can be investigated. I want people to know that my door is always open, and they are welcome to come and speak to me regarding how we can better the partnership and how we as police can serve them better.”
He says the station will no longer withdraw any cases, especially those relating to gender-based violence.
“Once people make a case, the next day they come and withdraw the case. At Kensington, we will not allow any cases to be withdrawn at the police station. Once you’ve opened a case, it will go to court, and you will then have to go to court to withdraw those cases.”
The officer says he is ready to make the community safer but he cannot do it alone.
“I am happy to serve here in Kensington. The community must just be patient, things are going to change and service delivery will improve.”
