Johannesburg - In a bid to reclaim the street of Hillbrow, local police have come up with a groundbreaking social crime prevention strategy.

The strategy was put to test during the festive season and seems to be already paying dividends. 

For the first time in many years Hillbrow had peaceful New Year celebrations this year.

According to police spokesperson, Inspector Kriban Naidoo, the strategy involved mobilising residents through forums and anti-crime marches.

"After many attempts to root out crime in Hillbrow, we finally realised the war against crime won't be won unless we involve residents themselves. So, what we are doing at the moment is to isolate criminals from law-abiding citizens by running anti-crime public campaigns.

"We distribute pamphlets with messages that encourage residents to report criminal activities to the police," said Inspector Naidoo.

He added that prominent people such as musicians and sports people would also be part of the campaign as the residents easily accepted them.

A few weeks ago former world boxing champion Baby Jake Matlala and other celebrities addressed local residents on the issue of crime and appealed to them to refrain from criminal activities and work together with the police.

Inspector Naidoo said police intended to engage with residents more vigorously and bring in prominent people to assist in the fight to win the hearts and minds of locals.

"Our objective is to change the mindset of local people. Hillbrow is one area where you find the highest number of people from outside the country, this has created a culture of individualism and people don't generally assist each other. 

"Even if an innocent person is being attacked by thugs, people just watch and hardly make an attempt to summon the police or an ambulance. It is this kind of attitude we intend to change.

"We want to make people aware that the fight against crime is meant to protect them and they must therefore work together with the police. So far our strategy has been very effective as people are beginning to come forward and report criminal activities such as drug dealing and robberies to the police," he said. 

On New Year's Eve Hillbrow police and local residents came together and marched through the city to the a concert held at the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown. 

The concert was organised by the police and the Joburg Metro Council to offer residents a safe environment to celebrate the day. 

As a result of the campaign, there were no reported incidents about people injured by objects thrown out through windows on New Year's Day in Hillbrow.