Crime down in Roodekrans

The Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch was formed on 8 February 2007 when four residents on initiative by Johan Roux decided to tackle crime in the area and thus launched the organisation. Initially, only members of Roodekrans were involved, but people in Wilropark were so excited to participate, that the border between Roodekrans and Wilropark was broken down. The founding members were George Ratcliffe, Johan Roux, Danny Titus and Marius Meyer. George, who is also chairman of the Roodepoort Community Police Forum (CPF) was elected chairman and Marius Meyer the vice-chairman. Marius pays tribute to Johan Roux who had the vision to establish the Neighbourhood Watch. Other members of the committee are Margie Stevenson (head of patrols) Don Walker, Cor Boer and Dirk Lotriet. In accordance with national legislation, a constitution was drafted and approved by the founding committee on 19 February. The Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch is a sub-structure of the Roodepoort Community Police Forum.

A first public meeting was arranged on 26 March and 22 residents from Antrasiet, Belladonna, Disseldoring, Maime, Rooiblom, Salvia, Rosemary and Vuurlelie streets attended the launch of the Neighbourhood Watch. All 22 members voted in favour of the continuation of the Neighbourhood Watch. A follow-up meeting was arranged for 2 April 2007 in order to plan the patrolling schedule. On 19 April the first patrols started and have continued uninterrupted for seven days a week since then.

Benefits of joining the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch are as follows:

• Members of the community themselves work proactively to raise awareness and prevent crime in the area.
• Streets are patrolled by car 7 days a week.
• Patrollers check if everything is fine when people are away for a weekend, on holiday, business or overseas.
• Members receive a house plaque to make it easy for patrollers and the SAPS to identify a house.
• A safer neighbourhood is established for members and their families.
• Better relationships are formed with the SAPS, and between neighbours.
• Crime related information and risks are shared and communicated between the SAPS and the Neighbourhood Watch.
• Regular interaction with the SAPS, Community Police Forum and other blockwatches ensures better understanding, co-operation and a jointly co-ordinated effort to fight crime that should yield better results in terms or reducing crime.

The Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch currently has 103 members representing 29 streets in both Roodekrans and Wilropark. There are 41 patrollers patrolling the two suburbs seven days a week. According to the SAPS there has been a significant decrease in crime since the patrols started. The SAPS director for Roodepoort, Eben McClaren thanked and praised the Neighbourhood Watch for their proactive role in reducing crime in the area. In other areas throughout South Africa, almost without exception, there has been a significant reduction in crime immediately after a blockwatch or neighbourhood watch has been established. The same occurred in Roodekrans. Says George Ratcliffe: “In my 13 years with the CPF in the Roodepoort area, I have never seen such a rapid growth in members since the launch of a block or neighbourhood watch.”

Each patroller receives a Code of Conduct with clear guidelines, including the safety of the patroller. Patrollers are ordinary civilians from the community, and are not trained police officers and therefore don’t run around chasing criminals like cowboys. They are not expected to fulfill the role of police officers or security guards. They are the “eyes” of the Police, and if they approach a potential crime scene, they do not challenge a criminal. Rather, they will phone the Sector Police vehicle in the area to report any potential crime risk such as a suspicious vehicle or person. The whole idea is to create visibility to scare potential criminals off.

A special award of service to the community was handed over to Bettie Kloppers on 4 June 2007, the new hero of Roodekrans, in recognition for her contribution to save the life of a victim of crime (attempted murder) on 26 May in

During the same meeting, Senior Superintendent Kobus Lategan, the SAPS head of crime prevention for Roodepoort informed the community of the decrease in crime since the start of the patrols. He praised the efforts of the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch but asked for more community participation. While crime is down in Roodekrans it went up in Wilropark. He highlighted the successes achieved when the community actively joins the campaign against crime.

Marius Meyer, vice-chairman of the Neighbourhood Watch provides the following crime tips:

• Save the Sector Police number on your cell phone so that you can alert the police vehicle in the area of potential crimes or incidents (072 659 7279). You will also find this number on page 2 of the Roodepoort Record every week.
• Always keep your house and garage doors closed and locked.
• Keep your gate closed throughout the day and night.
• Get an alarm and test it regularly to see that it works properly.
• Ensure that you have burglar bars in front of all windows.
• Never open the door or gate for strangers and inform your domestic worker not to open for people who claim that they are there to do work for you or to fix something.
• A good dog or two is certainly a deterrent.
• Get rid of shrubs or trees where criminals can hide when you enter your house.
• Install security lights to prevent dark spots - research has shown that criminals tend to avoid areas that are well covered with lights.
• Always park your car inside your garage.
• If you do park outside, lock your car and never leave anything on your seats or inside your car.
• Although this may be difficult for some people, your crime risk is reduced if you can vary your routine by not always leaving and returning at the same time.
• Get to know your neighbours, their properties, employees and vehicles so that you can spot suspicious vehicles or people. Be alert!
• Read the Roodepoort Record every week, especially the regular articles on crime in order to raise your own level of safety awareness.

The Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch is a community effort to unite in the fight against crime in Roodekrans and Wilropark to protect the families, possessions and properties of residents. By working together and looking after our neighbours, a significant difference can be made to the current crime situation. Marius says: “The time for sitting in front of your TV and complain about crime is over. Your TV could be stolen the same night. The community must take ownership for creating safer neighbourhoods. Although we are happy about the decrease in crime, the battle against crime is far from over - this is only the beginning. The crime levels are still unacceptably high. Our vision for 2010 is to create a crime-free neighbourhood. Without the active involvement of the community, the SAPS can do little to address the national crime crisis.”

Despite a good start and rapid growth of the organisation over the last three months, several future plans are on the cards to improve the impact and effectiveness of the Neighbourhood Watch:

• An intensified membership drive to double the current number of members.
• If more patrollers can be recruited, the frequency of patrols can also be increased, and additional routes can then be followed simultaneously.
• A regular monthly electronic newsletter to inform members of crime related matters in the area.
• A website with information for members.
• A bulk SMS service to inform members of crimes or potential risks in their streets.
• Free advice to members about improving their security at home.
• Regular interaction and liaison with the SAPS to jointly work together in the fight against crime.

The next meeting of the Roodekrans Neighbourhood Watch will be on 2 July at 19:00 at the Lions Club in

Published in Roodepoort Record, 29 June 2007