CPNW Newsletter – March 2019

Date posted: March 26, 2019

Dear Neighbours,

Crime Update

We are very happy to be able to report that we have not been made aware of any further incidents in our area, since the break-in on 7 February, as reported in our last newsletter. That had been the most recent in a number of burglaries that involved the removal of window panes, to which we had responded by bringing in a Tactical Response Unit form ADT for a 1 month period, at a cost of a little over R50k and in addition mounted various operations with them and as a neighbourhood, generally increased our vigilance.

In the early morning hours of one of the last nights of the Response Unit’s contracted time, suspects were spotted in the wetlands area beyond Birch Avenue but they fled and were not located after an extensive search involving CPNW members with a tracking dog. It would seem, however that this was the last straw required to deter these criminals from our area, if only for the time being but it does seem that the range of responses we employ do some effect at least.

Tactical Response Unit

In the meantime we have negotiated to be able to bring the Unit in on a more intermittent and less prolonged basis that will be more sustainable but it is also reassuring to know that we can call them in on a more extended basis should there be a more severe crisis, although this would require additional fundraising.

We have also started conversations with residents in the avenues and we are grateful to those who are coming forward to offer help in securing access points from the wetlands areas. Although this will mainly involve the fixing of existing fences we are also hoping that some thought is given to developing more environmentally friendly longer-term solutions such as various types of thorny hedge. Other possibilities include more extensive surveillance systems although this would also involve fundraising and, most importantly additional volunteer work.

Fidelity ADT

On that last note, we have been aware of further complaints about Fidelity ADT and we will again be insisting on high-level meetings with their management, which is something we will continue to pursue until their service is management by the promises we receive from the higher levels. As we have previously noted, the problems do not extend to the level of our regular patrol officers, with who we have good relations and who form a vital part of our safety systems but at the level of middle management and the accounts department in particular.

Our hand would however be strengthened significantly if we had a greater knowledge of other possible service providers we could be working with.  This however involves considerable research and negotiation and is not something any of the current committee members have the available time for. So we would be hugely grateful if a few individuals would come forward to take on this task as a contribution to our mutual security!

Missing Person

Finally a huge thank you to everyone who turned out on the evening of 18 March to assist in the search for a missing person! We are delighted to report that she was found and received assistance within an hour of the alarm being raised, much to the relief of all concerned. A special thanks to Karen and Idan who coordinated the search and to the heroes of the night Charlee and Ollie from our K9 response team!

Load Shedding

Finally please be aware that load-shedding provides lots of opportunities for would-be burglars, so please make sure your alarm batteries are charged and functional and please stay alert and in touch with your neighbours. A real community makes a safe neighbourhood!

The CPNW Committee

CPNW NEWSLETTER – FEBRUARY 2019

Date posted: February 18, 2019

Dear Neighbours

Housebreakings

As most of you will be aware, we have had a continuation of incidents involving at least one very skilled housebreaker who generally gains access to houses by removing window panes.

At around 3am on 25 January, a house in Protea Street was broken into in this manner and a television was stolen from an outside office, whilst in Acacia street a resident was disturbed by a noise and on further inspection discovered that beading had been removed from a window. In the first instance, beams in the garden had been triggered but nothing was seen dogs were not disturbed and this was attributed to the wind. A dog at the second house was also not overly disturbed.

In another incident on 7 February the same method was used to access another house in Acacia street, after garden beams had been evaded but the burglar knocked over a table whilst removing a TV, disturbing a resident in the house. He fled, taking a few smaller valuables. Although the alarm was raised, with ADT and CPRT members responding within minutes, and an extensive search took place, no-one was apprehended.

Repeat Offender?

Information we have gathered to date suggests that the individual involved seems to have considerable knowledge about the layout of the area and seems to select targets quite carefully, possibly based on information that has been gathered. Both the modus operandi and the eyewitness descriptions are highly reminiscent of a burglar who was caught, in San Michelle after the last series of such incidents.

Pictures of this individual, who is of strikingly small stature and dark complexion, and his wife, taken during their previous court appearance have been circulated. We ask everyone to be particularly vigilant about individuals in the area who may be gathering information, particularly these two.

Hiding in Gardens

It is also worth noting that houses in the Avenues in particular have been targeted and we have good evidence from the last incident that gardens are then used as places to hide and escape routes following an incident. It is thus critical that, should there be any further incidents, as many neighbours as possible in the area surrounding the burglary are woken up and assist the search effort either by checking gardens themselves or providing access to patrollers.

This of course raises a key question we need everyone to ask yourselves: Do you know who all your neighbours are? We need, not only to be able to alert and assist one another in an emergency but also simply to know that there is not someone hiding behind that wall…

Radios

We are also asking that everyone who has a radio, does keep this charged and switched on at night (On Channel 8, out of its charger!) and for everyone else to be alert to community WhatsApp messages. We are steadily building up information on these break-ins and with sufficient support as well as a little luck, there is a real chance we can put a stop to it.

Fidelity-ADT Tactical Response Unit

In the wakes of these incidents as well as the more violent home invasion reported last month, we also felt it wise to use some funds we had saved to bring in additional resources in the form of the Fidelity/ADT Tactical Response Unit, which consists of teams of two highly trained security professionals are operating in the area for 12-hours shifts usually starting at midnight.

As well as coordinating our response effort with them, we have conducted another joint operation and will continue to work with them for the remaining two weeks they are in the area. We do not have funding to keep them in the area for longer and on every night but we are looking at other possibilities for keeping them involved on a less regular, but perhaps more targeted basis. 

WhatsApp Groups

On the note of WhatsApp groups, we would like to reiterate our appeals to everyone to try to be as careful as possible about only using these groups for their intended purpose! The key reason for this is that, particularly with emergency groups, such as the radio-users group, it is really important that these groups are not kept muted so that we are sure to be alerted when a message does come in, as we would want to be, in a real emergency.

That said, we are grateful for the wider awareness of this, but it has also seen a proliferation of (sometimes less-than-subtle) reminders to adhere to this policy. These then have a tendency to provoke further proliferations of what are supposed to be Emergency Alerts as we all jump in to have our say!

This not only destroys the effectiveness of these groups when we really need them but it is also a great way of undermining our sense of community. We thus would like to make a clarification regarding how we see ourselves and one proposal that we would like everyone to try to adhere to:

CPNW has, from its outset had a focus on both the safety and security of our community and we have always seen the strength of our community, as a community, as the key resource we need to maximise to achieve our goals.

We would thus like to propose that for all Emergency Messaging groups in particular, all members must avoid ALL messaging that is not directly relevant to a safety or security incident that demands an immediate alert. This includes commentary on alerts that may have been viewed as incorrectly posted (and commentary on that commentary). SO: Anyone who has an issue with content posted by another member of the group must please refer this to the Group Admin who will adjudicate and intervene if necessary.

We hope that with this simple rule we will be able to keep these channels working and available for when we really need them!

We wish you all a safe and secure month!

The CPNW Committee

CPNW NEWSLETTER – JANUARY 2019

Date posted: January 20, 2019

Dear Neighbours

Crime Spike

After celebrating a relatively low-crime year at our AGM in late November, we have unfortunately been hit with a series of incidents, suggestive of at least three, if not four different groups of criminals, most of whom are likely to be visiting our area again.

Window Specialists

In the most recent of these, which took place at around 03:30 am on 16 January, a resident in Oak Street woke up to the sight of a burglar, who had broken in by painstakingly removing the putty and two layers of glass from a double-glazed lounge window, departing with a large screen television he had taken from the wall. The perpetrator was described as being of short stature and dark in complexion. Although the alarm was raised and both ADT and response team members began to search the area fairly quickly, the perpetrator was not spotted. This follows on a similar incident on 9 January in Poplar Rd when a window was removed and a large screen TV as well as other goods were taken whilst two dogs were asleep in the house.

In both cases, house alarms had not been switched on at the time of the burglaries. The brazen nature of these break-ins, as well as the methods used are highly reminiscent of the extended series of “blue-glove gang” incidents in the entire Noordhoek area throughout 2017 and into the early part of last year another feature of which was eyewitness accounts of one or more perpetrators of distinctively small stature.

These incidents came to an abrupt end after the apprehension of a man of short stature who was spotted apparently in the act of breaking into a property in San Michelle. He turned out to be a Malawian national who was also in the country illegally. Rather shockingly, we learned that he had recently been released from prison after being held on a trespassing charge, as he had not been linked to any other crimes.

Home Invasion

Also of major concern has been news of a home invasion in Protea Rd that involved the use of concrete blocks to smash a security door. It is evident however that the owner of the property is made of tougher stuff than his door as he managed to fight at least two perpetrators off despite sustaining a stab wound to the arm. He and a faithful small dog required surgical intervention as a result of being stabbed and we wish them both well on their path to recovery! This is the second recent break-in at the house that has been fought off by the owner but we are unsure as to whether the two incidents are related.

Other Incidents

In an incident on 12 December, on the same property, 18 saddles were stolen from a riding livery. Evidence was found that these were carried off through the wetlands and a few of the saddles were recovered.

There have also been a number of thefts burglaries from the outside of properties and break-ins into  out-buildings and garages, in Avondrust Mews and Avondrust Lane.

Following a similar type of break-in, on Hoek Street in the early hours of 13 January and suspect was apprehended, fleeing the scene in the possession of stolen goods by one of our ADT patrollers but a second suspect escaped and a television was not recovered.

We also had news of a break-in into a car on the afternoon of 27 December on the Common.    

“Blue-gloves Burglar”

If our previous experiences are anything to go on, we can expect a series of attempts of a similar succession to follow in the near future. If we are to bring these to a halt we are going to need to tighten up security measures significantly and to develop every strategy we can to  try and catch the perpetrators or at least deter them from further attempts in our area.     

It is thus worth summarizing what we do know about some of the different types of incident we are experiencing and  then thinking a little more carefully about what we can do.

With regard to the so-called “Blue-gloves” or “cat” burglar:

·       This involves at least one individual of small stature and dark complexion who may even be a Malawian National previously associated with such events.

·       Break-ins occur via the removal of unalarmed window panes and take place while residents and animals are asleep in the house usually between 2 and 4 am. Houses with no alarms on or ones where alarms have been switched off alarms due to apparent faults have been targeted. Perimeter beams have also been evaded.

·       The burglaries are exceptionally well planned and it would appear that extensive observation is done prior to the break-ins.

·       Past incidents pointed to a heavy smoker who spent long periods waiting UNDER COVER.

·       The perpetrators seem to be entering and leaving the immediate area by foot and possibly stashing stolen objects for later removal or meeting a vehicle just outside the area.

The pattern of ongoing, less sophisticated thefts from out-buildings is ongoing and points to a regular pattern of surveillance for vulnerabilities on bigger properties in particular.

Trends

The periodic theft of large numbers of saddles and other riding equipment suggests an organised syndicate and a high demand for horse-riding equipment.

The threat of further Home Invasions cannot be discounted.

Our open spaces, such as the Beach and the Common are frequented by individuals on the lookout for opportunity.  

We have also noticed an increased frequency of incidents of various sorts, in association with building or other activities such as the provision of services that involve people spending time in the area and moving from door to door.

Whilst this does not infer that anyone involved in legitimate activities is intentionally providing assistance to criminals but what it does illustrate is the extent to which it raises opportunities for detailed information about how we live and what our vulnerabilities are, to become available. As much as this could be through basic social gossip, we also believe that some individuals use the cover that these activities provide, to move about in the area.    

Our Response

So key to any response we generate is our own information gathering and communication. Thus the more we know and talk to everyone in our street, including the builders working down the road, the person walking past every day on her way to work and even the bin pickers, the more we not only become aware of who shouldn’t be there but also develop our own information networks. Let us know what you see and hear: info@cpnw.org.za

Street-view Cameras

With this in mind we would also like to develop a database of any street-view cameras in the area so we can review footage in the vicinity of crime scenes. If you do have a camera that covers your sidewalk or an area of the street please message Karen at 0765812429 with the word “camera” and your address.

Connector Groups

We also need to grow and maintain our connections with our neighbours using the Connector Groups (Contact Lynne: lchogan@netactive.co.za), so please encourage others to form and join these vital networks.

Take an active interest in the environment around your street. Be aware of where new paths are forming or where plants have been flattened, check for damage to fences and let your neighbours know what you are seeing. Ask about agitated dogs on you Connector group.

Review your alarm system

Please be vigilant about checking your alarms and reviewing whether you have sufficient coverage, particularly for out-buildings and consider getting outdoor sensors too, if you do not have these.

Radios

Of course we encourage everyone who does not have a radio to get one and for those who do to carry out regular checks and to keep it on, on channel 8, with the charger unplugged, overnight. There is no obligation to respond but the more houses that simply light up, when we know there are perpetrators in the area, the stronger the message we are sending!  

Quick Response Team

Of course we can always use more volunteers for our response team and we are also looking for someone located in the Avenues, who would be willing to act as a radio coordinator. If you are interested in helping with either of these roles, please contact Craig@bothaemail.co.za

Volunteer Needed!

We also need more assistance with our LPR camera system and we are, in particular looking for someone with IT skills and some knowledge of cameras to help with overseeing the system. If you are interested please contact Lynne: lchogan@netactive.co.za

Beach Security

We are pleased to report that, generally, the beach has been quieter with a greater presence from SAN Parks in the form of Visitor Safety Ranger Vasen Govender spending more time in the area and further support being offered by Working on Fire teams, who have assisted with patrolling.

Vasen is however also required to patrol further afield and on one of the occasions that he was not in the area, two armed males were spotted in the region of the Kakapo wreck, although no-one was accosted. Unfortunately there is very little patrolling in the early mornings or late afternoon so please be very careful at these times.

We have also increase signage at the beach and we would be grateful if everyone would alert unsuspecting visitors!

Here’s hoping we can stop this trend in its tracks and wishing everyone a safe 2019!

The CPNW Committee

Check your F-ADT Invoice!

Date posted: December 4, 2018

It has come to the CPNW’s attention that some members are receiving incorrect invoices from F-ADT and you are advised to check whether you are being billed the correct amount, and to contact F-ADT if you find discrepancies.

The correct rates are attached.

Contact details:

• Brendon Berry: bberry.cpt.za@fidelity-adt.co.za

CPNW AGM – Reports

Date posted: November 27, 2018

The CPNW AGM was held at the Noordhoek Community Centre on 26 Nov, 2018.

The meeting was well attended and ended with superb boerewors rolls!

Click here to download the Chairman’s Report (pdf file 110KB)

Click here to download the Presentation (pdf file 10.5MB)

We would urge F-ADT customers in particular to view the presentation, in order to check the amounts that they should be paying for their security services.  If there are any discrepancies, please contact F-ADT to have them corrected.

In essence, the presentation and report confirmed that from a security standpoint the last year was an exceptionally good one, but it was pointed out that at this time of year the crime statistics tend to trend upwards.

Although many more of our members have obtained radios in the last year, many of them are never switched on!  Now is a very good time to take it out, switch it on and make sure that it’s charged and working.  Please take the time to test your radio – and make sure all the members of your family are familiar with it.  Get them to do a radio test in the evening (before 8pm please!).

We wish you a safe and happy Christmas holiday and a prosperous New Year.

The CPNW Committee.

CPNW Annual General Meeting – 26 Nov

Date posted: November 15, 2018

The CPNW AGM will be held at the Noordhoek Community Hall (on Avondrust Circle, next to Jakes on the Common) on Monday, 26 November at 6h30pm for 7.

The meeting will start at 7pm sharp and is expected to end by 8pm.

Boerewors Rolls will be on sale, but please bring your own drinks.

See you all there!

CPNW NEWSLETTER – OCT 13, 2018

Date posted: October 13, 2018

Dear neighbours,

Crime Update

It is a great relief to again be able to report a continuation of a relatively low-crime period, with only two incidents we know of, in what is close to eight weeks since our last newsletter:

–        On September 13, in Katzenellenbogen Rd, a home owner found a ladder from the next-door building site propped up on the fence and removed it, only to discover later that an outside guest flat had been burgled. A flat screen television and a coffee machine were reported stolen.

–        In the second incident, three days later, an outbuilding on a property in Cardinal Close had a door removed from its hinges and a trellidor damaged but the attempt to break in was unsuccessful.

But elsewhere…

Although we generally have tended to experience lower crime rates in our area in the winter months and were also fortunate to have extended rains which have limited access through the wetlands, this year has been particularly quiet.

This is despite apparently increasing rates in most other parts of the Peninsula. Most worryingly, we have heard a number of reports of attempted hijackings, mostly late at night, along Kommetjie Road, in the vicinity of the shops and SASOL garage, an increase in armed robberies in Fishoek, and an extended run of crime in Kommetjie that was only brought under control through the intervention of the ADT-Fidelity response team members.

Also concerning was a report of two men who had been spotted following some tourists at the beach and were later handed over to SAPS. We have been very pleased to have the presence of SANParks Visitor Safety Ranger Vasen Govender and have supported calls for him to remain in the local area.

Keep your guard up

There does seem to be a trend of attempts on outbuildings as well as some association with building sites, so although we have mostly enjoyed a peaceful time and have perhaps been relaxing a little about security issues, it would be wise to a least make a check of the security measures you have in place.

We would equally encourage neighbours to check in with one another and to develop and expand community connector networks. It is crucial that everyone makes a point of welcoming new residents and bringing them into our circles of safety!

Sign up or Sign out!

We have a real struggle in keeping our membership database up to date, so please remind anyone leaving the area to let us know, but most importantly, please encourage new neighbours to get onto the website and to sign up!

We believe the multifaceted approach to crime prevention that we have adopted is paying off more and more, but this is entirely dependent on the degree to which we all participate in ensuring that we do live in a safe and peaceful environment. 

ADT

Whilst the crime front has been fairly quiet it has been all action on the security company side, beginning with a somewhat bizarre marketing campaign from ADT that was withdrawn within hours of being put out. By then however a number of discrepancies seem to have emerged, when various members discussed security bills (as one would in the light of what seemed like an extremely generous special offer!).

As a result a number of questions have arisen with regard to what rates residents in our area are charged by ADT for services and we seem to be struggling to get clear answers. We were finally given the table below, but as many of the figures do not seem to tally with what members inform us they are being charged, it would be very useful to obtain our own data. So, in this respect, we would be very grateful to anyone who is willing to disclose details of their monthly ADT Bill. Please let Erik know by contacting him at: e.h.meijer@telkomsa.net !

We obviously recognise that there would be some anxiety about doing so, if your rates seem lower than the norm, so we would hasten to assure everyone that we are clear that we would not reveal any identities to ADT. However we would need you to rely on our good faith!   

Fee Increase

Related to this has been the ongoing discussions we have had with ADT, regarding their proposal of a further 7% increase in fees this year, which we have vehemently objected to. In a further display of what we have charitably chosen to view as ineptitude, we then discovered that this increase had been implemented on 1 September and was also applied to the CPNW voluntary contribution of R30 per month. ADT has since agreed that this was incorrect and has promised to only implement the final increase, which they are now saying will be 6% (we continue to raise objections), on 1 November, to calculate this increase on the monthly total minus the CPNW contribution and to credit accounts to repay the error. It goes without saying that we would urge all members to keep a close eye on their accounts and to let us know of any discrepancies!

Alternative?

This does, of course again raise the question of whether we should not be switching to an alternative security provider, which has additionally become more difficult as Fidelity-ADT continues to grow its dominance of the local household security market. As mentioned before, our principle difficulty lies in the enormity of the undertaking involved in finding potential alternative service providers, in properly assessing the value they would provide and then in persuading a significant majority of members to switch, in the face of a range of potential hassles and initiation costs.

Additionally we remain confident that the actual security service we are getting is of a good standard, particularly as we have, over time developed good relationships with most of the patrol officers, who know the area well.

We have also recently benefited from the use of specialist response team members, who played an effective role in bringing an end to the run of house burglaries we were experiencing in early 2017, as well as in responding to the beach incidents. That said, perhaps the most concerning issue is the lack of apparent competitors, which does leave us very vulnerable when negotiating what we pay.

Call for Volunteers

This brings us, once again to the pressing need we have for more volunteers to come forward and assist in investigating alternative possible security providers, as well as to help with the range of other duties carried out by committee members. When these tasks are shared between enough of us, none amount to a huge number of hours per month and are easily do-able – but over time, and as the number of active volunteers declines (as ironically always seems to happen when we have been successful) the work does pile up on a few and becomes more and more wearying as the years go by.

So, we urgently need to call for volunteers to bring new energy to our committee and we need to ask everyone in the area to think carefully about how you can help in making sure that our lovely neighbourhood does indeed continue to be one of the safest places to live in this country!

Although some existing committee members are beginning to feel the fatigue of many years of involvement, what we all in agreement about is that working for our community in this way is enormously rewarding! This is not only evident in terms of the tangible results we have produced, but also in the way our community has developed into what is truly a wonderful place to live in, make friends and to raise a family.

It would be terribly sad to see this slowly deteriorate again into that all-too-typical situation in many parts of modern suburbia, where people don’t know their neighbours and retreat behind ever-increasing layers of walls and fences. This will however become inevitable if we do not get new blood into our structures in the near future! So please give some thought to this.

AGM

On that note we would like to invite everyone to our AGM, which we will be holding on 26 November at the Community Centre. (More about exciting developments at the Centre to come soon!)

Please set the date aside and be sure to remind your neighbours!

Wishing you all a safe month!

The CPNW Committee.  

CPNW NEWSLETTER – AUG 27, 2018

Date posted: August 27, 2018

Dear Neighbours

Crime Update

We are pleased to be able to report on a relatively quiet winter with only five incidents that we are aware of in our area, since the start of June.

This includes a housebreaking in Beach Rd, with the theft of a TV via a smashed window, on 6 June, the theft of laptops from an open house in Village Lane on 16 July, the theft of luggage from a vehicle parked on Chapmans Peak Drive, most recently an attempt to break open a door of a house in Beach Rd (no-one was home) in early August, and an attempted robbery at Monkey Valley on July 26.

The latter incident resulted in the quick response of a number of CPRT and community members, with successful arrests achieved after our K9 team flushed one of the suspects from his hiding place and another was later apprehended by our ADT officers. Well done to all involved!

It is reassuring to all of us to know there is this kind of help a radio call away when you need it! We also believe that repeated successes like this do have a way of creating a certain image about our community in the minds of those on the lookout for vulnerable targets. 

Review your Security Measures

We continue to hear reports of crime sprees in many surrounding areas and we should not be surprised if we see an increase in criminal activity as summer approaches and traffic into our area increases significantly with the influx of holidaymakers and beachgoers, whilst simultaneously the wetlands begin to dry out.

So this is a great time to be reviewing security measures and perhaps servicing that alarm system before the peak-demand season. Please also make sure your radios are in working order and do not be afraid to introduce different family members to the odd radio check!

Refuse

We would also like to thank everyone who is being more careful about managing their refuse so that it does not get blown all over the area and at least limits the time it is available to waste pickers.

We are also very grateful to those doing impromptu patrols on Friday mornings! We realise that this is a sensitive matter and our intention is not to prevent anyone from making an honest attempt to survive in whatever way they can. Thus our focus has been on asking people to keep things tidy and on getting to know who is in the area, so that we can minimise the associated increase in crime that has been reported in many places.

Drones

We have had a few concerns being raised about drone activity, so we thought it would be useful to clarify the regulations that control the operation of privately-operated drones, which are as follows:

• may only fly RPAS up to 7kg in weighT
• may only fly at night in R-VLOS (restricted visual line-of-sight), this was previously not allowed for any remote controlled aircraft
• may only fly up to the height of the highest object located within 300m of the drone (or up to a max of 400 feet, whichever is the lower of the two)
• may only fly up to 500m away from the pilot, while maintaining direct line of sight (R-VLOS)
• must to keep more than 50m from people
• must to keep more than 50m from roads
• must to keep more than 50m from buildings
• must to keep more than 10km from a registered aerodrome (airport or airstrip);
• may not fly in controlled airspace at all
• may not fly in “No Fly Zones”

Whilst we would also encourage all drone operators to exercise caution (especially when learning to fly the thing!) and to respect others’ sensitivities about both privacy and the natural environment, we do wish to point out that most drone pilots are simply having fun and are probably not out to spy on anyone or for some other malevolent purpose.

We thus find it disturbing when comments crop up on social media, with incitement or threats to shoot drones down. We would remind anyone making such comments that, unlike flying a drone, discharge a firearm or even an air rifle in a suburban area is a criminal offence.

Community Centre

We are pleased to say that most of the Community Centre is now completed and we will soon be ready to make it available for a range of activities and there will be further announcements about this in the near future.

Wishing everyone a safe and sunny (with perhaps some more rain too) spring!

The CPNW Committee

CPNW NEWSLETTER – 19 MAY 2018

Date posted: June 19, 2018

Dear neighbours,

Crime Update

We have unfortunately had a further spate of what seem to be relatively unplanned and opportunistic thefts, mainly in area around the lower part of Beach Road. This has included the following:

–        thefts of a phone out of a car parked outside the Red Herring on 15 May

–        thefts from an unlocked house on Beach Rd on or before May 18

–        a bag-snatching in Acacia Rd on 26 May

–        the theft of bicycles from an open garage in Mountain Rd on 6 June

–        the theft of a television from an unoccupied house on Beach Rd.

Extra Vigilance

Whist we have been relatively lucky, of late, to have been spared any recent incidents of home invasions or the sophisticated break-ins we have had in the past, this is a concerning trend as past experiences suggest that repeated successful minor crime does seem to lead to more serious events, so we would urge everyone to up the game a little so we can stop this in its tracks!

This means an extra little attention in terms of both home security and with regard to taking note of, and considering communicating anything unusual on the streets. There is no harm in putting out a WhatsApp or asking our ADT officers to investigate when there is something of concern, as long as we are all careful to promote the same sense of mutual concern and respectfulness for one another that we would expect ourselves!

Riding Equipment Theft

A more concerning incident that fortunately had a reasonably positive outcome was the theft of a large amount of riding equipment, including 7 saddles, to the value of over R250 000.00 from stables on Katzenellenbogen Road on the night of 1 June.

Thanks to footage on a CCTV camera at the stable, the perpetrator was identified as a former employee and was apprehended with most of the stolen property a few days later, with police also following up on strong leads regarding accomplices and the outstanding items. This is the latest in a series of incidents at various equestrian establishments in what has been an ongoing trend for some time now.

We have noted that some of the stables seem to be relatively poorly secured, despite the value of some of the equipment stored there, whilst it would also seem apparent that much of this kind of theft is specialised in nature and carried out by people with knowledge of horses and a specific market for the items stolen.

Solutions

We believe that there are a number of affordable solutions that could be employed to secure tack-rooms more effectively, so we would like to urge stable owners and those keeping equipment there to speak to members of our committee and we can make a few suggestions.

Fidelity/ADT also has additional, specialised capacity in terms of investigating and intervening more directly in response to specific problems and this is also a discussion we would be willing to facilitate with them should this kind of incident continue to re-occur.

Holidays

As many of us will be taking advantage of the school holidays to find some drier weather in other parts of the country, we would like to also remind everyone to let neighbours and you security company know if you are going to be away.

Please also think about things like bushes and beams, and of course loose windows and doors in these winter storms!

Rubbish Bins

We also repeat our request to EVERYONE to make the relatively small effort it takes to put bins out in the morning. Aside from the benefit it has in terms of limiting the time-period during which people picking through bins (and those pretending to, for more nefarious reasons) are in the area, the horrible mess that results from an upturned bin in an overnight storm, is also kept to a minimum.

Voluntary Contributions – Reminder!

Last year we had a number of donations from residents who said that they’d like to continue to donate on an annual basis, providing they were reminded to do so. 

Here’s the reminder! 

Our bank details are:

Chapman’s Peak Neighbourhood Watch
Standard Bank
Fish Hoek 036009
Current a/c 270 364 439

Wishing everyone a warm and safe winter!

The CPNW Committee

CPNW NEWSLETTER – 21 MAY 2018

Date posted: May 21, 2018

Dear Neighbours

Crime Update

We have fortunately had another quiet month in terms of housebreakings, with only one such incident at the Farm Village on 3 May when a laptop was stolen after access had been gained via a small window.

We continue to see an increase in opportunistic crime however, with much of it taking place in relation to bin-picking activities.

• Overnight on 19 April two mountain bikes were removed from a property in the Farm Village.
• An E-bike was stolen on the morning of Friday, 20 April from a vehicle in Acacia Street at a time when a number of people were noted to be walking the streets in the area.
• On the evening of 17 April a man was seen attempting to push a vehicle out of a property in Leeerdam Avenue but he managed to escape, after some difficulties in raising the alarm due to problems (fortunately now resolved) with communications with ADT.

Please Inform CPNW about Incidents

We are concerned that there are still a number of incidents taking place that we only hear about for the first time from the police or via a social-media grapevine.

Please do report criminal activity to us as it really does help us to keep everyone prepared and safe! Incidents can be reported to: Incidents@cpnw.org.za or by contacting Robin Mousley at:  robin.mousley@gmail.com or 0827845673.

Bin Pickers

The problem of an increase in criminal activity on Bin-collection days is one that we have discussed in the past which involves considering a number of factors, including uncertainty regarding the exact legal situation pertaining to when refuse is no longer one’s property (there are various arguments which currently all seem to be untested), the rights of people to walk in the streets on the lookout for anything of value to them, and of course, the opportunities this poses for those with nefarious intentions.

Various approaches have been taken in different neighbourhoods, but we do not feel that any of the approaches we are aware of, would be entirely suitable for us to recommend. We have resolved to discuss the matter further with ADT, who we feel should have (or be developing) a nation-wide strategy of their own as this is most certainly a widespread issue. We are also calling on volunteers to do spontaneous patrols between 5am and 8am on Friday mornings, making use of radios and letting everyone know on the Radio User’s WhatsApp group.

In the absence of an obvious crime, we would not encourage any hostile behaviour towards the bin pickers but it would be useful to make them aware that they are being observed and perhaps to engage politely with regard to encouraging respectful behaviours such as not strewing litter around and keeping noise levels in check.

We request residents NOT to put wheelie bins out the night before collection (which is against city council regulations in any case).   

Community Centre

We are glad to report that renovations at the Community Centre are moving ahead and we will soon have a space to use for community meetings, which can also be divided into smaller meeting rooms. This will only leave some of the outside areas for completion and we hope to involve everyone in a final drive to get this finished and to really show off its potential for use by the whole community!We are also hugely grateful to Peter van As of Continental China who kindly made a donation of 72 Coffee cups, plates and side-plates which now take pride of place in our increasingly well-stocked kitchen. Many thanks Peter!

Leavers and Joiners

Finally a reminder to anyone leaving the area (or who has left) to please let us know by replying to this mail. We would also be grateful if everyone makes a habit of both welcoming newcomers to the area and encouraging them to join us and your local Connectors’ group as soon as they arrive. Our safety lies in community!

Wishing you all a safe month – the CPNW Committee.