City puts Neighbourhood Watches on the front foot

07 May 2023

A progress report on the work of the Community Safety and Neighbourhood Watch (NW) Support Programme served before the most recent Safety and Security Portfolio Committee meeting, highlighting various initiatives to train and empower NW members, including expanded training on situational crime prevention, and the introduction of First Aid.

The Neighbourhood Watch Support Programme is a well-established initiative within the City's Safety and Security Directorate.

Each year, the programme facilitates training and equipment for dozens of accredited NWs around the metropole.

These interventions are funded through a combination of Directorate budget and ward allocations.

For the current financial year, the allocated amount is just under R5,7 million.

The progress report submitted to the Portfolio Committee as part of its oversight function noted new initiatives, namely an extended training programme around situational crime prevention, with four two-hour sessions over a six-week period focusing on:

Theory of Situational Crime Prevention
Identification of crime/disorder related problems
Developing an action plan to address problem areas
Follow up/feedback session

For the first time, First Aid training has also been incorporated, with selected members of NWs in Khayelitsha, Delft, Atlantis and Hanover Park participating in the sessions to date.

'The Portfolio Committee is heartened by the work being done in this space, to bolster our Neighbourhood Watches. It is clear that steady gains have been made since the introduction of the programme, not just in terms of funding, but also the training expansion and increased resourcing. This continued investment speaks to the City's confidence in the ability of NW's to play a meaningful role in building safer communities. They have become valuable partners, not just in addressing crime and other social issues, but also mobilising to help convey very important public safety information, as we saw during the pandemic, and lending a hand in our disaster management relief efforts,' said Committee Chairperson, Mzwakhe Nqavashe.

Other interventions that have continued or expanded as part of the NW support programme include:

The establishment of a radio communications network for NWs to access
Crime prevention initiatives between NWs and the City, like the removal of illegal graffiti and a street numbering project
The establishment of a Neighbourhood Watch Disaster Risk Management Initiative
The establishment of Community safety hubs, which provide office and meeting space for NWs and other organisations
The appointment of dedicated City Community Safety Liaison Officers, deployed to the four geographical areas and who serve as a contact point between NWs and the City

Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office