East Rand creates hope against crime in South Africa

The past weekend AfriForum intensified its Project Nehemiah – a strategy against violent crime, which was launched on the East Rand last year – by providing training to members.

During this training East Rand neighbourhood watches and the command group of Project Nehemiah attended various safety modules, with the purpose of curbing crime on the East Rand while assisting community members and making them defensible. The modules included command and control, area protection, legal aspects, protection of and home and hearth and functioning of intelligence.

“We must personally take responsibility for our safety – if we work together, we can proactively secure communities and give our residents hope once more to stand up to crime, and this is precisely what Project Nehemiah does,” says Jan Vermaak, Commander of Project Nehemiah.

Vermaak explains that their strategy in an effective manner coordinates the inherent operational capabilities between different communities. Training is therefore a vital component of intensified community intelligence projects.

“We encourage communities to become involved with safety institutions and to prioritise their own safety. Training in different fields can better enable communities to act within the framework of the law and to make their communities defensible,” says Hillel Coetzer, AfriForum Head of Safety for the Northern region.

Become involved with your local AfriForum neighbourhood watch today: SMS “Buurtwag” to 45342 (R1).