Date posted: September 9, 2024
Dear Neighbours,Hopefully everyone has survived the winter without too much flood damage, and we will at last get some sunny weather!
Home Security Review – Do it now!
Typically for wintertime, it has been fairly quiet in terms of incidents, but there is always an uptick around this time of year, so this is a good time to review your home security!
Burglary
We do have one serious incident to report, however. Most unusually, it took place on an extremely stormy night, on 28 August in a guest establishment on Beach Rd. The property, located high above the road, was accessed from Chapman’s Peak Drive, and a large amount of electrical equipment was stolen, including computers, televisions and batteries. As far as we are aware, no alarms were activated and the property was unoccupied at the time. There was also a report of a bakkie being broken into in Avondrust Circle on 2 August, but it is unclear whether anything was stolen.
Radios
On a more positive note, one of our more active committee members has done a revision of our Radio User Protocols. The revised version was sent out on the Radio User’s WhatsApp Group and will be emailed with this newsletter too. (You can find it on the website here.) If you don’t have a radio, but are interested in getting one, please go to our website https://cpnw.org.za/ to find out how to join the user group and get hold of a radio!
Volunteers Needed!
We are also excited to have a new volunteer looking into a Drone Response project.
It is encouraging to see a little more interest from people willing to volunteer. Some of us have served on this committee for almost 20 years and it would be good to know there are others willing to keep this very worthwhile endeavour going, ideally for just a few years at a time.
For this we need a few more folks to put their hands up! Speaking personally, I can say that being able to do something meaningful to improve the security of both my own family and our wider community has been hugely satisfying. But it certainly did not come easily or naturally.
We all like to stay in our comfort zones and take for granted the many good things about our lives in Noordhoek. Caught up in our own busy lives, we can be oblivious to the efforts others are making to keep this place so special. Yet, anyone who has been involved in any of our community organisations will tell you how rewarding it is to realise the real changes residents have made to improve the quality of life for everyone in Noordhoek. Many of these projects started painfully slowly yet have built great momentum. Those who spend time in this area, including the City’s Mayor, recognise what a special place it is to live in, largely thanks to the volunteers who have put in effort to make it so!
So, once again, we ask everyone who reads this to consider how you could contribute some time to community work, particularly to improve our safety!
Camera Project
We are currently looking for someone (or two or three in partnership) to act as our Camera Project Manager, one of many projects developed by Patrick Wright.
This important role involves oversight of the 5 licence plate readers (LPRs) and 44 CCTV cameras we now have in our area, including:
- Liaison with security companies regarding monitoring
- Reporting any problematic or down cameras to the camera installer or network contact
- Responding to requests for footage reviews
- Planning new camera installations with the committee
A suitable person would need an understanding of IT and an interest in cameras, but any additional training and support would be provided.
Crime Incident Recorder
Another key position we dearly need someone to take on is the following up of crime incidents (some of which we only hear about via the grapevine), including the systematic recording of these in our database.
Fortunately, the fundraising systems we have developed over the years mean we rarely need to ask anyone to do work we can easily pay others to do.
So, what is generally required involves tasks such as information gathering, planning, liaison and project management. And as we are a bunch of public-minded, positive-spirited community members, we generally manage to keep our meetings short and often enjoyable!
So, if keeping crime out of the neighbourhood feels like a worthwhile endeavour to you, please get hold of us!!
Wishing everyone a safe and pleasant spring!
The CPNW Committee
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