Date posted: March 2, 2023
Dear Neighbours,Crime Update
It has been something of an eventful time since our last newsletter, but not all the news is entirely negative! We have had five incidents reported since the last newsletter, as well as news of an additional one that took place last month, but also some arrests.
City of Cape Town Depot Break-in
Beginning with the one a while back, there was a break-in at the City of Cape Town Property next to the NCC, on Avondrust Drive overnight, and discovered on the 18th of January. Three chainsaws were stolen after padlocks had been cut and a door was levered open.
Beach Parking Break-in
There was another break-in to a vehicle in the beach parking lot on 29 January, with objects of significant value stolen from some visiting tourists. Unfortunately, the very nice shade now being provided by trees in the parking lot has obscured some areas from the cameras making it impossible to get any useful footage and we will need to find a solution to this challenge.
Hoek Street Theft
Then, on 31 January burglars climbed over the gate of a property in Hoek Street, broke the padlock on a Wendy house and stole a full tank of gas during the night.
Intruders – and Arrests
This was followed by additional evidence of intruders in the area, particularly on Thursday nights, including in cardinal close, where we quickly installed another camera. Then on 1 February our cameras showed evidence of intruders in Cardinal Close and at Avondrust Farm, spending considerable time in the area, possibly either stashing takings, or doing surveillance.
Particularly concerned that this may have been the prelude to a more serious crime, we put out an alert via the WhatsApp Groups. It was good to note that some, if not all were quick to get radios up and running and to call in on the first radio check we have had in some time.
We are hopeful that many more will be ready and available on the radio network should we have a serious emergency! We also alerted the security companies, and activated the rapid response team which has been quiet for a very long time and it was hugely assuring to here an almost immediate response from nearly every one of these heroes!
Perhaps in response to the heightened vigilance things went briefly quiet, but then on 10 February, the cameras spotted intruders climbing a gate in Cardinal Close. An officer from Deep Blue, alerted by his control centre, responded, supported first the ADT vehicle and then a second DBS vehicle. Officers entered property and apprehended intruders who were handed over to SAPS. The last news we had was that they were facing at least 3 charges.
Kudos
It was great to see how well our Patrol Officers work and collaborate and the arrest is a huge credit to our camera team that really illustrates the value of this program!
We are steadily learning where to place cameras more effectively and encouraging the Security Companies to monitor more and more of them, with a plan to steadily cover all the boundaries and then to go street by street, as our budget allows. The other thing every camera needs is a host, for each new location we identify, and we are most grateful to everyone who has agreed to help with this!
This generally involves use of a fibre connection and electricity supply, with fairly minimal costs in terms of power usage (about the equivalent of 1-2 lightbulbs) and data, as the cameras only actually send footage when suspicious activity is detected.
Street Group Camera Initiatives
Of course, in addition to the great value this provides to everyone in our community, it also adds an additional layer to one’s local security. We are also delighted to hear of Street Groups that have started fundraising efforts to have their streets covered as soon as they can, and we would encourage others to do the same.
We will of course work with you to assist and to ensure that everything is compatible with our systems, so do let us know if you are keen to set something up.
Funding Appeal
Of course, as with all our projects, the successful roll-out of the cameras is entirely depending on the state of our finances. Although these have been substantially boosted by revenue from the NCC, we are still heavily reliant on member donations. Whilst most people donate regularly through a R30-per-month surcharge on their Security Company Bills, a number choose to make an equivalent annual donation, usually at this time of year, so we would be most grateful if those keep coming in.
We welcome additional donations too!
Our Banking Details are Standard Bank, Fish Hoek Branch Account Number 270364439.
Other Incidents
We also received a report that poles were removed from a property in Willow Rd, although the exact date of the crime is uncertain. Although not in our area, we were very sad to hear of two break-ins at Tom Ro Haven, resulting in the loss of much of their blankets and other equipment, which is a real blow for any charity.
Drones
We have also noted concerns, raised by residents in the Mountain Rd area, in particular, about the use of drones which have been flying low enough over houses to create a nuisance and, on a least one occasion to seriously intrude on people’s privacy at a social gathering.
It is likely that, with the rapid proliferation of these craft, many drone users, the country, may not be aware of the regulations governing to the use of drones:
- A Drone may not be flown within 50m of any person or structure or building unless there is specific permission to do so.
- Drones must be flown in the line of sight of the operator, unless the operator has an RPAS Operators Certificate
- A drone may not be flown within 10km of an aerodrome.
- The drone may not weigh more than 7kg.
- Professional use of a drone requires the operator to have an RPAS Operators certificate, which is issued by the South African Civil Aviation Authority. Which also issues permission on request, to certificate holders, for night use or use within 50m of properties.
To add to this, are very strict SANParks regulations that also prohibit the use of drones over the Beach area.
We would encourage everyone to respect these regulations and for Guest House Owners to ensure their guests are aware of this. ( probably do not need to remind everyone that, however tempting, and even if pointed vertically, the discharge of a shotgun or any other weapon in an urban area is an offence!) We would also not encourage alerting our patrol officers to drone-related concerns as we do not think they would be able to do much about it, but if this becomes a persistent problem and the property the drone is flying from can be identified, pleaser do let us know, and we would be happy to educate our local flying enthusiasts about what the law has to say!
Connector Groups
One of the innovations that we are most proud of, as CPNW, are the Connector Groups. It seems to make so much sense, that as immediate neighbours, we should have an interest in keeping one another safe, and in working together to improve our immediate surrounds, yet a shocking number of us barely even know who lives next door.
The Connector Groups have been developed with the idea of setting up small communication networks between immediate neighbours, so that we can tell one another when we are going to be away, or check up on one another when something seems amiss, such as dogs barking at a strange our, or an alarm going off.
A nominated representative of each group is then connected to Committee members and emergency teams.
The advantage of having such small groups is that they can be adapted to local needs and preferences, so some use them for broader purposes (can I borrow some sugar?), whilst others keep them strictly for security issues, the group can decide – and as a small enough group, these decisions are generally easier to make!
The groups we do have seem to work really well, and we really believe that every household should be a member of at least one group. Ultimately, our biggest source of security lies in the strength of community and immediate neighbours are any community’s basic building blocks. We will shortly be launching a campaign to develop more groups across our entire area, so please give this your support!
Fire Season
Finally, we would like to remind everyone that we are entering the height of the fire season, so please remember to be extra alert for any fire hazard, to clear gutters of leaves and cut back tree branches that could set fire to your house!
Another practical precaution anyone can take is to walk outside into the street and make sure that the fire hydrants are not buried under foliage; some hydrants in the area are currently well buried. It’s clearly sub-optimal to have firefighters digging in search of a connection instead of putting your fire out!
Wishing you all a safe a peaceful March!
The CPNW Team.
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