AfriForum’s regional safety network in the Southern Cape receives specialised training
Neighbourhood watch leaders from the Eden regional safety network which was set up in January this year, received specialised training this past weekend to refine and optimise the cooperation that must be done between neighbourhood watches over an area of approximately 12 000 km2. This two-day course was presented in George and was attended by 14 neighbourhood watch leaders from George, Oudtshoorn, Mossel Bay and Knysna.
The neighbourhood watch leader and operational team leader course forms part of AfriForum’s intensified training strategy and is aimed at enabling neighbourhood watch members to effectively assess security situations and thoroughly plan, execute and optimally communicate any security operations that may arise from them. Since neighbourhood and farm watches work together over a wide area within the newly established safety network, specialised knowledge of integrated security operations is now essential for the optimisation of security activities in this area. Neighbourhood watch managers underwent theoretical and practical training and had the opportunity to coordinate a security operation themselves.
“The requirements placed on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to secure our communities have become a daunting task due to state decay. The responsibility now rests on us as citizens to organise ourselves to assist our police service in fighting crime in our communities,” says David Olivier, AfriForum’s Head of Safety for the Southern Region.
Meanwhile, the implementation of AfriForum’s regional safety networks elsewhere in the country is also well underway.
According to Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s Chief Spokesperson for Community Safety, eight regional safety networks have already been set up this year. Earlier this month, a network was established on the Gauteng East Rand, which brings together the neighbourhood and farm watches in Benoni, Kempton Park, Springs, Boksburg, Alberton, Edenvale, Germiston and Brakpan. In addition, another regional safety network was established last week in the Eastern Cape, linking AfriForum’s Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Jeffreys Bay neighbourhood and farm watches.
“With the large-scale unrest that broke out in July 2021, we saw how efficiently organised communities could secure themselves when it became necessary. AfriForum’s regional safety network concept will now enable communities to be even more resilient over a larger area and also receive early warnings about any crime or other destabilising situations in these areas. This will also enable AfriForum to allocate and use resources more optimally,” explains Broodryk.
Join your nearest neighbourhood watch today to safeguard your community. Contact Marthinus Erasmus, AfriForum’s District Coordinator for the Southern Cape, at marthinus.erasmus@afriforum.co.za or 081 216 9602, for more information.
