JMPD Steps up Patrols as Student Safety Concerns Grow after recent Murders
Reading Time: 2 minutesJMPD steps up patrols as thousands of students feel unsafe after nine women were found dead in Ekurhuleni.
Image Credit: JMPD
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) has intensified visible policing and public safety operations across the city following growing concern over the recent discovery of the bodies of nine women in Ekurhuleni.
The deaths have sparked widespread concern about the safety of women in Gauteng. Against this backdrop, the City of Johannesburg has stepped up preventative safety measures.
As part of the increased high-visibility patrols, JMPD officers assisted two women in Braamfontein around 11pm on Thursday night by escorting them safely to their residence at Wits University.
Thousands of students affected
Braamfontein is home to thousands of students and young people who regularly travel between university campuses, residences, private student accommodation, entertainment venues and public transport hubs.
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department says interventions such as these form part of its strategy to prevent crime before it happens, particularly by increasing police visibility and protecting vulnerable people, including women.
While the investigation of crime remains primarily the responsibility of the South African Police Service (SAPS), JMPD said its officers and specialized units are working alongside SAPS and other law-enforcement agencies to strengthen public safety operations.
JMPD on high alert
Police have not confirmed that all nine deaths in Ekurhuleni are connected. However, the similarities between a number of the cases have prompted a high-level investigation and intensified concern among communities.
For young women in particular, the deaths have once again raised difficult questions about what is being done to make the spaces they move through every day safer.
The Department said its officers remain on high alert across Johannesburg, with increased deployments aimed at protecting residents, students and visitors.
