Date posted: January 26, 2020
Dear Neighbours,Greetings from the CPNW Committee and best wishers for the New Year!
Crime Update
In terms of crime we had a relatively quiet Holiday period with a second visit to a property in Buren Rd, which did not appear to have been completely secured, a break-in in the Danieldale area and an episode where a trespasser was chased from a property in Protea Rd after being spotted in rather suspicious circumstances.
We have had news of at least two recent Home Invasions in Fishoek and Capri, so we would urge everyone to remain particularly vigilant at this time.
Security Providers
We are aware that many people are uncertain of the status of the relationship with FADT as the current, primary Security Provider (SP), in the area and of the status of negotiations with the alternative SP we have been in negotiations with, Deep Blue Security (DBS).
We apologise for the recent gap in updates which have been the result of complexities in ironing out the wording of a finalised agreement with Deep Blue and of the wording of the associated individual contract to our members. As much as this has placed a significant burden on the time of committee members (with a further impact on our ability to send regular updates), we see this as a positive, as it is ensuring that the agreement we do ultimately come to, will be one that is a significant improvement on the current status quo.
Deep Blue Endorsement Process
As many of the questions we have received about our relationship with Security Providers and our decisions in this regard, we have published on the website a detailed account of our understanding of the existing relationship and the thinking, motivation, investigations and processes involved in coming to the decision to propose Deep Blue as an alternative choice of SP that we would support.
Please click on the following link for access to that account (please note that you have to be a registered member of the website in order to view the document):
https://cpnw.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CPNW-DEEP-BLUE-PROCESS.pdf
In summary however:
With regard to FADT, while we recognise the exceptional service we have received from certain patrol officers, we have also repeatedly received complaints about various aspects of the service and particularly about price increases. In negotiating with FADT, it has been very clear to us that our power was very limited by the lack of any clear agreement in black and white that determined how the relationship works and we have on several occasions been made aware of our limited power in this respect, particularly as FADT became more dominant in the local market.
It is thus worth noting that the dramatic lowering of charges, a marked improvement in the visibility of patrols and the introduction of the Response Unit vehicle over the holiday period, all took place after it became known that we were intent on introducing another player into the market.
We however continue to maintain our relationships with FADT and to represent the interest of our members with them, as we have done, although we recognise that, should they lose significant clients numbers, they may feel they cannot maintain current levels of dedicated service.
Is there room for more than one Security Provider?
We estimate that there are over 400 potential customers in the CPNW area with over 260 holding contracts with FADT. It is thus entirely conceivable that more than one SP could recruit sufficient clients to justify providing dedicated services in the area, the extent of which would be determined by numbers contracted - with the benefits of a healthy competition for clients likely to be seen in the services they provide.
It should also be made clear that a non-negotiable aspect of all our interactions with anyone who may be involved in security in the area demand the very highest levels of cooperation, with and support for one another in dealing with any security concern.
Deep Blue - Proposal
After noting problems with our SP for a number of years at our AGMs and calling for proposals for potential alternatives, we last year received a proposal to consider DBS, which was made with an undertaking to take the lead in investigating the feasibility of such a proposal. This was communicated to our membership with a call for assistance and involvement.
An investigation was undertaken on various aspects of DBS and their capacity to offer a service that we could recommend to our members. Key to this is that we believe the service offered equals what we are currently receiving with FADT but comes with key advantages.
First of these is the development of integrated camera systems (with the installation of additional cameras at key spots) using analytic technology to enable “virtual patrolling”. This is something we have long identified as a key strategy in staying ahead of crime, and particularly in addressing our vulnerability to entry via footpaths.
We also feel confident that we will have a far clearer contracts detailing the agreement in terms of services they will provide and greater transparency in terms of billing and future increases. They are a relatively small but innovative company which we feel is capable of responding rapidly to evolving security needs in our area.
The results of this investigation were presented at the AGM, with a strong endorsement of support for the introduction of the new SP as a preferred choice.
The way forward
We will thus be introducing DBS to our membership in the coming weeks and assisting our membership in finding out about them. As per our mandate at the AGM we are endorsing them strongly as an alternative security provider and we believe it would be to our community’s great advantage if they are able to recruit over 200 clients in the area, if not more.
Critically, as much as this is our belief and we recommend DBS, we recognise that every household retains the right to choose whatever security-provider they feel will provide the best service.
Declaration of Interest
We are aware of some criticism for the decisions we have taken and in this respect we would like to state clearly that no member of the CPNW Committee nor anyone involved in the evaluation of DBS behalf of the Committee, has any financial or other interests in DBS beyond the safety and security interest of our community.
We would further like to state unequivocally that no member of the CPNW Committee has at any time given an instruction to DBS or any other security company that they may not speak to members of our community.
Communication
We do recognise that some people may be feeling ill-informed, so we will strive to make all the necessary information available to our members and to continue to answer questions. We are however, pleased to note the increase in interest in security matters as a result of this discussion, and we would urge everyone to involve neighbours who may not be connected, into the discussions!
Ultimately however, we are confident that we have a membership who are well-capable of determining for themselves what is likely to provide best value and we will be guided by your actions.
The CPNW Committee
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