Mayor Plato's Neighbourhood Watch campaign takes to Wesbank
29 March 2021
On Friday evening, Cape Town Executive Mayor Dan Plato and Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith joined the WesBank Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) for a crime prevention patrol along with the local Walking Bus members. In Wesbank, patrol activities focused on visibility, logging C3 notices to show the value of the City’s service request system in addressing service delivery issues and identifying illegal shebeens.
During the patrol in the area, a suspect was pointed out who had allegedly just stabbed a resident. A short chase ensued where the suspect was detained and handed over to Law Enforcement along with the knife found in his possession.
Now in its eighth week, the Neighbourhood Watch support visits have been to various areas across the City to offer ways to assist these community-based groups and to encourage increased community participation.
Cape Town Executive Mayor Dan Plato said crime prevention requires all of our efforts including residents.
‘Communities need all the support possible to see upliftment, safety and opportunity. The residents part of this NHW are clearly motivated by their concern and care for their community. Wesbank is affected by gangsterism and the residents here are in need of our support, in addition to the work of SAPS. We don’t want to see violence and crime affecting the residents. Positive change is within our reach,’ said Mayor Plato.
The South African Police Service is the primary law enforcement agency, supported in the Cape Town metro by the City’s Law Enforcement and Metro Police. Although the Law Enforcement department’s main functions are by-law enforcement and addressing traffic violations, they are playing an increasingly broader role in joining the local communities to prevent crime.
‘The safety of our community lies very deep in our hearts. The challenges here are gangster violence, drug abuse and illegal shebeens. We often see underage people going to these shebeens. As the neighbourhood watch, we do our utmost to help this community. We need a proper action plan on how to address the challenges. We need greater involvement from the community to work with SAPS,’ said Matthew Lottering, Chairperson of the Wesbank NHW.
‘The efficiency of the NHW partnership and presence cannot be understated as we had several incidents during the patrol, which they were able to respond to with community support and it’s clear they will be increasingly valuable in crime prevention efforts. Walking with these patrollers, they were also able to show us areas within the community where street lights had become defective and where these areas had been left vulnerable in the darkness. By using the service request reporting system on the City’s website, we reported these instantly so these can be scheduled for repair as soon as possible,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security Alderman JP Smith.
Neighbourhood watch members can also become members of the Volunteer Law Enforcement Auxiliary Service (LEAS). In 2013, the Safety and Security Directorate launched LEAS, with prospective volunteers encouraged to first join their local neighbourhood watch before being recruited as a LEAS volunteer.
The Law Enforcement Auxiliaries Programme allows registered neighbourhood watch patrollers to apply. Once trained and equipped, these voluntary Law Enforcement officers can directly assist their NHWs with the powers of a peace officer, which further enhances safety within their own communities.
City NHW groups have been active for more than a decade and have seen encouraging growth, with thousands of members now part of key crime prevention efforts within their respective communities.
The public can anonymously report any suspicious activity to the Public Emergency Communication Centre on 021 480 7700 from a cellphone, or 107 from a landline. Complaints of non-compliance with Covid-19 regulations can be directed to the City’s compliance hotline on 021 444 3582.
Caption 1: Executive Mayor Dan Plato walks with the Wesbank NHW members.
Caption 2: A suspect is taken into custody after an alleged stabbing in the area.
Caption 3: Metro Police officers assist the Wesbank NHW in patrolling the area.
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
