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Plans are afoot to establish a block watch for Factreton and Kensington, and local residents are urged to take part and make contributions.
Members of the local community policing forum (CPF) are the brains behind the project.
A meeting is planned for Sunday 19 August at 16:00 at 24 Patrys Plein.
“The plan for the watch is to focus on blocks instead of focusing on big parts of the community to patrol. We will focus on smaller spaces to patrol and that helps bring more impact,” says CPF spokesperson Cheslyn Steenberg.
The structure’s mission will be to reduce crime across the community via visible patrols and partnership building with other safety and security agencies, including the CPF, says Steenberg.
“We will work with the police, Metro Police, etc. because they are our main partners in this regard. Our team members at present are normal residents – our mothers, fathers and mostly concerned residents that decided to make our community safe,” he explains.
A base from which to operate has not yet been found, so the team will work from roving bases.
“We are still to acquire the state-of-the-art resources but we have the bare necessities.”
Steenberg says the message to local residents is to join in the efforts to establish their own block watch which will reduce crime in their immediate space.
“We have reached a time when we cannot wait for police and the government to protect us. We also have a legal responsibility to protect ourselves and we are doing that by being visible on regular and daily patrols that will be supported by law enforcement agencies.
“We are all affected by crime, it knows no boundaries and orientation; we must stand up and tackle crime, but we need to also do prevention and that is what we will be doing – prevention. We will offer our time and our own personal resources to ensure we make an impact in our community. Think about the Factreton and Kensington you are leaving behind for your children.”
