“The Bekkersdal community is sick and tired of crime and they are saying enough is enough!” This is according to Andy Mashaile, of the Bekkersdal Community Policing Forum (CPF). The CPF and the SAPS decided fight back over the long Easter weekend, through a three-day awareness-raising soccer tournament, held at the Bekkersdal stadium.

“These games are aimed at fighting crime through sports. Young people are hero-worshipping criminals. The CPF decided to do something about this and have started a twelve-month programme since January 2008. It seeks to address the causes of crime, to create platforms for young people to fight crime and to discourage people from engaging in criminal activities. Most criminals are men, so we saw it fit to use what men like most in our community: soccer games. Hence the theme is one in sport is one less in prison", said Mashaile.

SAPS Captain, Baba Mpotoane, said that safety and security requires the participation of all members of the community. “Police alone won’t beat crime. We need to start talking to each other, change people’s mindset and encourage everybody to become involved. This is the inaugural tournament and we plan to hold this tournament annually,” said Captain Mpotoane.

In the past three months, the SAPS have provided skills training to CPF members. The training covered trauma counselling, project management, administrative skills, business management, social crime prevention and creating crime awareness. “We would love to establish and maintain the faith members of the community ought to have in us as SAPS. I urge people to come forward with their legal issues, cooperate with the police, refrain from buying stolen goods and stop hiding criminals,” said Mpotoane.

The three-day tournament received a R50 000 sponsorship from Mavuso Business Enterprises. “We sincerely hope our contribution will go a long way towards changing people’s behaviour and creating a crime-free society,” said Frank Ramarumo, Financial Officer of Mavuso Business Enterprises.

The semi-finals among juniors, seniors and masters were played on Easter Friday and Saturday. These three categories competed in the final on Sunday. The winning junior team was Sweepers and they won medals and a trophy. The winners in the seniors category was Simunye United and they won medals, a trophy and a soccer-kit. The winners in the Masters category was Bekkersdal Masters and they received medals and a trophy.

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