The South African Police Service (SAPS) has called on motorists to stop giving money to beggars at intersections.<\/p>\n
The Bedfordview\u00a0& Edenvale\u00a0News<\/strong><\/a> reported this week that the local SAPS believes that criminals posing as beggars are behind a recent\u00a0spate of violent crimes in the area, including rape.<\/p>\n Bedfordview SAPS spokesperson, warrant officer Mduduzi Nhlabathi, told the community paper: “It is important for our residents to note that these beggars will not leave our area as long as they are still getting money from members of the community.<\/p>\n “One of the main solutions to getting rid of beggars is to stop giving them a reason to come back. Stop giving money to beggars,” said Nhlabathi.<\/p>\n It isn’t the first time that the SAPS has called on residents to stop supporting beggars.<\/p>\n “When you give money to a beggar on the street, you are not just feeding their addiction. You are also giving them a reason to stay in the area. You are creating a market for them,\u201d said Cherri-Lyn Croucamp of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) in 2015.<\/p>\n Nhlabathi went a step further, saying that residents who continue to support beggars can be regarded as accomplices to the crimes they commit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t, as law enforcement officers, keep quiet when we are working on ridding the area of beggars and some members of our community keep giving them a reason to be back. We rely on our residents to do the right thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A report published in January by Solidarity Helping Hand stated that “most beggars on the street are drug addicts”, putting that figure at as many as 80% to 90%.<\/p>\n Why you should not give money to beggars in South Africa<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore on South Africa<\/h3>\n