‘Without the community there is no police’

Khayelitsha's new police chief says she wants to build a strong team, made up of people from all walks of life, to fight crime.

Brigadier Khuthala Masakala, who has 21 years of experience in the police, took up her post on Monday last week. After completing her police training in 2002, she was posted at Nyanga police station, where she worked as a constable for several years. Working her way up the ranks, further postings - including several as station commander - followed at Philippi East, Strand, Hermanus, Hout Bay, Mossel Bay, Thembalethu police station in George and Gugulethu.

The police cannot fight crime alone, she says, noting that community groups have a vital role to play too.

Brigadier Masakala says she hopes to build trust between the police and the community to support the development of anti-crime strategies.

She advocates an open-door policy, encouraging the public to hold the police accountable and report crime.

If a member of the public is unable to come to the station to open a case, the police have a responsibility to visit their home to help them do so there, taking their statement and providing them with a case number, she says.

“Without the community, there is no police. We are simply here to ensure that law and order is upheld by everyone.

"We will have meetings with our stakeholders to ensure that we deploy our police resources based on our shared best way of fighting crime.

"We must be very careful and be proactive in our policing because criminals are also studying us. I urge residents to inform me when they find my cops being involved in crime so that they could be investigated by external units and ensure that our job here is not disturbed.

"We want to regain the trust of our community so that we could stand on the same side when it comes to fighting crime."