Date posted: January 19, 2023
Dear Neighbours,We seem to have had a relatively quiet November and December on the crime front. This is exceptional for the “Christmas shopping” season, and is certainly impressive compared to other areas!
However, it is very concerning that we tend to get information about the incidents that do occur in our area in dribs and drabs, often indirectly and well after the event has taken place. This hampers our awareness of the status of crime in our neighbourhood, and also compromises our ability to respond quickly and directly, which is critical in putting a stop to it!
Incidents
Incidents we have recently become aware of include the following:
- Friday 23 December; Cardinal Close, Overnight: Property entered after gate chain was broken. Gas bottle and telescope stolen from an outbuilding.
- Friday 30 December; Oak Avenue, Overnight: Dustbin stolen.
- Thursday 12 January: Oak Avenue, Overnight: Window broken by sharp object (found nearby) in apparent break-in, unsuccessful due to security shutters.
- Thursday 12 January: Avondrust Lane, Overnight: Clothes stolen from wash line; laptop and 2 Kindles stolen from outbuilding. Some items of laundry retrieved in Cardinal Close.
- Thursday 12 January: Cardinal Close, Overnight: Bicycle stolen from property after chain broken with a bolt-cutter, sheets discarded by perpetrator.
We are also aware of three occasions during the small hours when individuals were spotted on camera wandering through the streets without good reason and were then escorted out of the area. Nevertheless, our street cameras did not capture the presence of the intruders on the nights listed above.
This suggests that alternative routes into the area are being taken to avoid the existing cameras. We have placed additional cameras accordingly. Although this type of crime is relatively small scale and non-confrontational at this point, we note in these cases an escalation in frequency, scale, and invasiveness. It is also generally accepted that as smaller crimes increase in frequency in an area, they soon evolve into more serious and violent crimes.
Teamwork
For this reason, it is critical that we all act urgently to tighten up the safety of our area.
In the first instance, this relies on our ability to communicate and disseminate information rapidly. With efficient use of the resources already at our disposal, we can easily alert everyone in the area within minutes of a criminal act. If even half the lights in the vicinity were switched on shortly after such an act was detected, and several cars were suddenly patrolling the streets, the deterrent effect would be powerful.
Less dramatically, just knowing about the risk situation in our community at any time gives us all the chance to make small adaptations to improve our security. There are often things we procrastinate over, deprioritise in our budgeting, or simply get slack about. So, knowing immediately about a new crime risk in the area is important for everyone. We therefore appeal to everyone to immediately communicate any incident of crime or evidence of attempted crime.
Community Connector Groups
Ideally, all incidents should be reported on the CPNW website. Alerting one’s close neighbours via a Community Connector Group is also an excellent immediate alert system. This provides communication to the CPNW committee via the Connector Rep and wider dissemination if necessary. If you are not yet part of a Connector Group, please speak to your neighbours and contact Lynne lchogan15@gmail.com for assistance on how to set one up!
Radios
A more immediate means of obtaining help is of course the radio network. Sadly, we don’t hear much activity from most of the 180-odd radio users in our neighbourhood. If you do have a radio, please make sure it’s working by participating in the radio check-ins!!
Finally, we encourage anyone who has been the victim of any crime in the area to report it to SAPS. This is important because the resourcing of SAPS stations at National and Provincial level are based on crime stats, and locally it affects the amount of patrol time devoted to our area.
Bin Days
We were also made aware, on the morning of Friday 13 January, of a group of men wearing balaclavas thought to be acting suspiciously while ostensibly looking through bins. The same day a Fiat Palio was noticed circling around the avenues. In both cases patrol vehicles went to investigate but were not able to find the individuals of concern. We are grateful for the reporting of any kind of suspicious activity and we need to take note of any such possible “surveillance” in the area as a potential prelude to more serious crime.
Thursday nights and Friday mornings are, of course, a particularly vulnerable time in our area because of garbage collection. We would again urge everyone, wherever possible, to only put out bins in the mornings, to avoid attracting too many people into the area at night! Individuals were also reported to be “camping out” at the beach on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 January. Later inspection revealed a pile of rubbish (now in the whale) that had clearly been picked from bins, but no signs of any encampment. We have alerted SANParks to this matter.
Quad Bikes
We were also made aware of concerns about youths riding quad bikes in the dunes and wetlands over the last week or two. We are glad to report that when the matter was raised on a Connector Group, the owner of the quad bikes immediately came forward. He had not been aware that they were being used in this manner while he was at work. He responded by dealing with the boys involved accordingly and expressed sincere apologies to the community.
Urgent! Check your Fire Hydrants
Where's the hydrant?! Not much use if the Fire Fighters have to dig up your flower bed to get to the hydrant!
In related environmental matters, we note that we are now in the height of the fire season, with high winds and bone-dry vegetation. There have also been a concerning number of set fires across the valley from us, and concerns have been raised that there is an arsonist at large.
This is a good time to ensure that there is no dead vegetation around your house, that your gutters are free of debris and that the hydrant in your road is accessible and working! In the event of a fire, the numbers to call are: 107 from a cell phone or 021 480 7700. The general emergency number from a cell phone is 112.
Here’s to 2023!
As the CPNW Committee we are looking forward to 2023 as another year of growth. We are hugely grateful to those who have recently volunteered to work with us, some of whom are already taking on tasks. We will be contacting others in due course and hope a few more will step forward to join us! It is hard not to be anxious about our future in South Africa at this time and we would be foolish not to prepare for any eventuality.
However, the wonderful way our community has developed over the past 20 years is a testament to how good we can make our lives when people pull together. And if ever there was a time to pull together, that time is now!
Wishing everyone a safe and secure 2023!
The CPNW Committee
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