Date posted: January 29, 2024
Dear Neighbours,Holiday Burglaries – and Arrests
Unfortunately, it seems that what we were celebrating as a remarkably quiet holiday period crime-wise has turned out to be nothing of the sort. We have since become aware of a series of burglaries discovered as people returned from their holidays.
This included the theft of bicycles from buildings on properties in Oak Avenue – where alcohol and clothes were also stolen – and Ntombeni Way, and a housebreak-in on Willoughby Drive.
Fortunately, the perpetrators, a 14-year-old male and an accomplice whom we believe is 18, were apprehended after attempting to re-enter the Willoughby Drive property on a second occasion using keys they had stolen. The perpetrators were identified with stolen goods on several cameras and most of the missing items have been recovered.
These incidents had typical features of holiday season break-ins: an alarm failure due to a flat battery, a property completely unprotected, and out-buildings left open in more than one instance. Although we are pleased to again report successful arrests and the return of goods, this is a sober reminder to us all to think carefully about security before going away on holiday.
Crime Sprees Nearby
Even more concerning is a rather persistent crime spree taking place in the Dassenberg and Crofter’s Valley areas, with incidents almost every night since the start of the year. These have primarily involved thefts of items such as gas bottles, borehole pumps, gates and fencing material, but also break-ins to houses and cars.
This area has struggled over the years to establish a functional neighbourhood watch association, with many properties poorly secured and few subscribed to security providers. We are delighted that a new initiative is under way to re-establish the DASCRO NW and we have been supporting where we can. According to the committed souls who are putting in considerable effort, their membership remains below 20% of residents. This is reminiscent of the first years of CPNW, with similar levels of crime.
Locating and reaching the silent resident majority in an area is no easy feat, especially when properties are large and post boxes are rare! So, we need everyone to actively promote the idea of community in our broader neighbourhood through personal conversations, social media and any other possible means. Enlarging our circle will make us all that much safer!
Remain Vigilant!
As this crime wave is likely to spread to our area, we urge everyone to remain particularly vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the armed response company control rooms and your local connector groups.
Update – Armed Robbery in Hout Bay
In news that broke between the first and final drafts of this newsletter, we were made aware, through CPF structures, of an armed robbery at a property in Hout Bay.
The description was typical of a kind of robbery commonly referred to as a "Home Invasion”, and more particularly one that involves at least four men, all armed and well-coordinated, who rapidly storm premises in the late evenings, taking advantage of open doors, alarm systems that are not yet activated, or people arriving home, with larger properties being targeted, particularly on the verges of the mountain or other areas that offer concealed access. The residents are generally quickly rounded up, tied up and made to turn over valuables, open safes etc.
Unfortunately, there is a limit to which one can protect oneself from this kind of determined and highly sophisticated crime, and still enjoy living where we do.
It is, of course, wise to invest in perimeter monitoring and protection, and to install systems that do allow one to keep doors open, or lock up earlier than one would normally, but there is a limit to what we can afford or are prepared to tolerate in terms of personal restriction.
What we can all do with relative ease, is up our awareness levels, ensure we do have panic buttons available and that we all, including children and guests, know where they are, check the radio, or get one, and teach everyone how to use it. We can also strengthen communication with neighbours and put more cameras in our streets and covering access points.
This kind of home invasion is not a new phenomenon, and we are not aware of any sudden increase in the prevalence of this type of crime. We are also hopeful that we are steadily developing some form of deterrence to this kind of crime. From past experience however, we know that once a gang becomes active, they tend to strike repeatedly, and it is wise to take extra care.
Putting Bins out on the Correct Day = Less Crime
We are happy to see that our Thursday evenings have remained quiet, with remarkably clean bin-free streets despite the recent howling winds!
We share everyone’s frustration at the recent disruptions in waste collection services and appreciate the extra effort shown by all to minimise the time our bins spend on the street. It has really paid off in crime prevention!
FIRES
As is plainly obvious, we are now in the thick of the fire season, and the evidence that some recent fires may have been the result of arson puts us in a vulnerable situation, particularly after a long and wet winter that has fed plant growth and increased fuel loads, with large areas that have not burned for many years. It is thus critical that we are all vigilant and prepared for fires.
Please report any fire immediately
The most useful number is Firewatch: 086 110 6417 – Please keep this on your phone!
Other numbers are City Fire Reporting: 107 or 021 480 7700
Fire Brigade: 021 590 1900.
Please make sure your property is not unnecessarily vulnerable.
- Make sure any hydrants on your street are accessible, clearly identifiable and show no evidence of leakage.
- Clear any bushes or branches in close contact with your house.
- Empty gutters of dry leaves and check that doorways and garage doors have no leaves beneath them.
- Store piles of wood or dry plant material several metres away from buildings.
- Minimise the undergrowth and dry material under larger trees.
- Ensure everyone in your family has a basic understanding of fire awareness and what to do in the event of a fire.
If you see a fire in the area
- Make sure it has been reported.
- Decide whether it is safe to stay; if not, leave.
- Make sure all household members are accounted for.
- Have a basic emergency evacuation plan, ensuring you keep everyone accounted for, have valuables and emergency items identified and collected in advance.
- Stay in touch with CPNW via their radio network or your connector group.
- Seal gaps under doors and windows with wet towels.
- Set out containers of water or sand to extinguish small fires that may result from falling embers.
- Where possible, try to keep roofs and gardens wet, and roof gutters blocked off and filled with water.
- Follow the instructions of emergency response personnel.
- As evacuation orders are generally transmitted via a range of channels including radio, social media and onsite emergency personnel, stay in touch with neighbours and keep checking social media channels.
Cameras
We are happy to report the addition of another two cameras in Willoughby Drive, and we thank everyone who has come forward to offer hosting and support! We are especially grateful to Louis Theron for donating 16 cameras and a recorder to our systems.
NCC
The Community Centre seems to be going from strength to strength, and as a substantial proportion of the income from bookings goes towards its restoration and maintenance, it is looking more beautiful all the time! We are especially grateful to everyone who has made donations to the centre, most recently Lynne Brown, who has donated seven historical pictures of old Noordhoek.
Summer-time…!
It has been lovely to see Noordhoek so busy again this summer after the quiet years of Covid, and local businesses seem to be thriving. We hope that everyone will make our many visitors feel welcome, warn them of potential crime hazards, invite them to use the Buzzer App, and encourage them to park considerately, keep our beautiful beach and neighbourhood clean, and drive sober – we seem to have had our first bumper-bashing and traffic jam!
Wishing everyone a safe start to 2024!!
The CPNW Committee
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