The Radium Beer Hall

There are many bars around the Johannesburg area. Some would say none quite like the Radium Beer Hall in Orange Grove. Many stories have been told over a cold beer at The Radium. We look at the history of what …

Day 7: Chasing the stats

It is funny I have spoken about the importance of sources and how difficult it can be to get a hold of them. However I have been fortunate that the people I have spoken to have been in constant contact with me and have been so gracious in helping me get through this project. The trouble for me has been trying to get useful and understandable crime statistics for the area.

Where I do find stats it is like trying to crack a code its impossible to find figures that are straight forward and self explanatory. The problem I think is that, as you may recall I sat in on a Community Policing Forum meeting on Tuesday where the statistics were discussed, I however am not able to repeat these stats or I will be criminally charged and honestly I don’t think its worth me being arrested for. Although I do think it is strange, as a community they should be allowed to know the rate of crime in the area and what types of crimes are most prevalent, these facts and the awareness could help them prevent some of the crime.

I managed to call the Rising Sun which is the Mayfair and Fordsburg local newspaper and they told me they publish the stats weekly in their paper, it was only when I took a look at the stats that I saw that they were very non descriptive I asked the editorial team where they received these numbers and I was told that they are compiled and sent to the paper from the police.

Just from hearing that I knew that this was not the full representation of crime in the area. It seems the police do not want to release all the details as they do not want to stir panic in the community, or at least this is what I was told at the community policing forum meeting. So I will just have to keep looking.

This is a type of journalism that intrigues me and my mentor is willing to help me make it work. Lets hope I get it right.

Braamfontein, not just for the hipsters

South Point marketing intern Junior Mahlangu sitting in front of one of the custom-built bikes given away on Thursday afternoon. Photo: Raquel De Cahha

Ten Wits students in a Braamfontein residence won a bicycle each yesterday afternoon in a competition aimed at growing a cycling culture in Braamfontein.

“We want to show that Braam, is not just for the Saturday crowd and the hipsters.”

“We want to show that Braam, is not just for the Saturday crowd and the hipsters,” said South Point residences CEO Mdumiso Davidson who handed out the bicycles to the winners.

South Point and Wits Cycle Club are working together to show the safety of driving around Braamfontein by giving the winners a class in cycle safety. Davidson believes that that if cyclists make use of the newly installed cycle lanes in Braamfontein, motorists would respect them more, making the lanes safer to use.

One of the winners Promise Thlologelo Rampa, a fourth year social work student, said that health was one of the reasons she wanted a bicycle. She is getting married in December and is planning on finding her dream dress. “I really want to drop two dress sizes in time for my wedding and I know that getting this bicycle can help me do that.”

“We want to encourage an active and healthy movement for students in the area,” said South Point marketing and sales coordinator, Keith Mafu.

The students get to keep the brand new handmade Schinn bicycles for two months. The bikes will then be reviewed and if they are kept in good condition, the students’ use of the bike will be extended.

 

Firat published in Wits Vuvuzela