CPNW NEWSLETTER – 20 FEBRUARY 2018

Date posted: February 20, 2018

Dear Neighbours

Kakapo Wreck Muggings

As most of you will, no doubt by now be aware, there have been further attacks on the Beach, in the area near the wreck of the Kakapo. We continue to assist Komwatch with the funding of two members of Fidelity/ADT's tactical response unit, which we do feel was effective in reducing incidents during January - with none of the incidents taking place when they have been active.

The rate negotiated for the use of these men was significantly discounted so they do not come with backup support and thus, although we have been successful in securing their services for another month, the hours they were putting in was not sustainable, so they have needed to reduce their time on active duty are coming at different times each day.

We are most grateful for the donations we have received in support of Beach safety and we will continue to fund them for as long as possible and to look for more sustainable solutions. Chief among these is better coordination with SANParks and between them and other security agencies, which sadly, still leaves a lot to be desired and we will continue to work with other groups in pushing for a more comprehensive approach to safety on our mountains and beaches.

Risks

We are however, shocked at the numbers of vulnerable individuals who still seem happy to walk down the beach with absolutely no apparent sense of the risks involved. We would urge everyone to take note of the seemingly gratuitous levels of violence associated with these incidents and urge everyone to not only stay away from the further reaches of the beach, but also to warn others, who seem oblivious to the risks involved.

Housebreakings Down, Arrests

Returning to the immediate neighbourhood, we are pleased to note that there have not been any further housebreakings of the type associated with the removal of window panes since the 17th of January, when a very quick response from CPRT members was not successful in apprehending anyone but seems to have given the perpetrators a good scare. News is that there have been a series of similar incidents in Fishoek, so we need to be on the alert for future incidents of this type.

Sadly, we are still battling with break-ins to out-buildings, with the theft of a generator and other equipment from the Earthride stables on Avondrustvlei farm and another robbery at the NRA building. In better news, a quick response by our ADT patrollers, with assistance from YMA offices, led to the successful arrest of two suspects who had broken into a house in Buren Rd a little earlier that evening.

Water

We are grateful to everyone who is working hard to save water and especially to those who are working with the NRA to prepare our neighbourhood for a possible "Day Zero" scenario. A critical thing we need to be sure about, relates to the presence of vulnerable people in our area, who would not be able to collect water for themselves.

An altogether more attractive possibility that may seem like fantasy to some but which the Scarborough Community is on the verge of proving to be possible, is to make our entire area water self-sufficient, in an emergency situation. This would of course be dependent on the willingness of those with access to groundwater to share this resource and would need everyone to pull together in all sorts of ways to make it work but perhaps, like with the fire, it is something that could end up making us an even stronger community than ever before!

Please assist by completing the survey we are helping to distribute, on the website and through the Community Connector Groups! Thank you to James Eckley and Gail Jennings for putting this together.

You can also use your Connector Group to discuss the water crisis and how your street can manage the situation.  Even simply discussing it with other people can help.

Social Media and Vigilantism

Finally, we must again raise concerns about some of the content being posted on Social Media. Whilst we have raised the issue of false news and the problems with inflammatory postings, even more serious are blatant calls for what can only be termed as vigilante action. While we fully understand people's frustration at the lack of progress in apprehending suspects, particularly on the Beach and we share the dismay at the dysfunctional state of many of our security services, we cannot condone illegal behaviour of any form.

A particular theme that keeps surfacing, has been around ideas to "set a trap" to apprehend suspects on the beach or in the mountains. In this respect a few key points need to be made:

• SAPS have made it clear to us that they are reluctant to use such operations because of risks of "entrapment" being used as a defence and undermining the chances of a successful conviction.


• Whilst we do not accept this completely, it is clear that for such an operation to be successful, it must be very carefully planned, with input from prosecutors.


• To plan and carry out an operation, without permission, on SANParks property, would be illegal, particularly if weapons are used.


• Planning and carrying out a "sting" operation, without the involvement and express permission of SAPS, would be breaking the law and if someone was to be injured or killed, charges of attempted murder, or murder and of conspiracy to murder or to commit public violence would ensue.


• It is possible that anyone who had prior knowledge of such a plan (i.e. anyone on that Social Media Group and particularly those indicating support) could be implicated as an accomplice under the doctrine of Common Purpose in South African law.


• It is furthermore illegal to incite acts of public violence, which is what calling on people to set traps and to "teach them a good lesson" effectively amounts too.

We are thus amazed at some of the blatant postings we have seen on various Facebook and WhatsApp groups in particular.

We find it odd that anyone who is seriously planning something of this nature would see fit to publicize it first, so we are hopeful that this is mostly silly posturing, rather than the stupid criminality of publicising a crime before carrying it out!

It is nevertheless inflammatory in the extreme and whilst it may serve as useful venting for the more histrionic among us, it is not something we will tolerate on media associated with CPNW and we will be challenging its presence on other forums - we believe that now, more than ever, we all need to put our energy into strengthening, rather than undermining the rule of law.

Please let us work together on this!

The CPNW Committee