Cape Town - In a bid to encourage Cape Town residents to join active community neighbourhood watches, Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith accompanied by mayor Dan Plato embarked on their first local community visit over the weekend.
The visit began in wards 67 and 68, parts of Lavender Hill and Seawinds, where local ward councillors saw the safety and security directorate hand over 12 LED torches and 80 reflective bibs to Southern Eye, in support of their patrolling efforts.
Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said: “These 50 000 city-wide neighbourhood watch members realise the significance of being active members in their communities, dedicating their time to help make neighbourhoods safer.
“Preventing crime requires a whole-of-society approach and these residents are aware of the contribution they can make in uplifting their surroundings. Visibility is so important and we wanted to give added support to NHW groups to emphasise the work they do in their communities. We appreciate their effort,” said Plato.
The patrol activity, which was centred on engaging with residents around crime prevention, also provided officials the platform to highlight the importance of residents adhering to Covid-19 regulations to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Smith said: “NHWs are an invaluable resource and have grown tremendously over the last 10 years. Without them, crime would be more distinctively felt in hot-spot areas.
“The NHWs are our eyes and ears by helping the City’s drug task team and SAPS Anti-Gang Unit take more effective action by knowing where to target interventions. There’s a great deal of training and development that we are doing with our NHWs. We provide them with the necessary equipment and also recruit them into the auxiliary services in law enforcement.”
Cape Argus