Date posted: March 25, 2025
Dear Neighbours,Crime Incidents
We have two incidents to report since our last newsletter, both of which, by their brazen nature, serve as solid reminders of how vigilant we need to be.
On the morning of 24 February, at approximately 03h00, a Toyota Yaris in Disa Road was had three of its tyres removed.
On 26 January at about 12h15, a resident in Erica Street was working in an upstairs room when he was disturbed by two intruders in a downstairs room attempting to remove the television. Although both were armed with knives, he managed to raise the alarm and chase them outside.
The prompt response of neighbours, the security companies and members of our rapid response team resulted in the apprehension of one suspect by a Deep Blue AR Officer, the recovery of the TV, and a thorough search for the other.
Regarding the first incident, it is concerning that the removal of three tyres from a vehicle, whilst it was balancing on rocks, can escape notice, even in the early hours! We have communicated our concerns to the security companies, and whilst there is no direct camera coverage where the vehicle was parked, we were surprised at the lack of vehicle movement around this time.
This raises the possibility of criminals remaining in the area after dark, or entering the area on foot, hiding goods, and using the cover of daytime traffic to get the goods out.
Over the years we have noticed potential associations between small crime surges and building work taking place. This seems to be the case in this instance and in fairly recent reports of burglaries on Beach Road, but would be hard to prove.
More importantly, we need to realise that any business that brings traffic and particularly casual workers into the neighbourhood brings some element of risk. As a community we need to continue trying to mitigate this risk through various means, but we will always need to remain vigilant and realistic about the continuous threat of crime in the society we live in.
Home Invasion
This is immediately implicit in the second incident, where the house was entered via unlocked doors. Descriptions of the perpetrators suggest this was an opportunistic event involving the kind of desperate and rough-living characters who roam through the neighbourhood from time to time.
Their easy access to the property was compounded when the homeowner pressed his panic button, only to have his wife, who was out at the time, assume there couldn’t possibly be anything wrong in the middle of the day and cancel the call out!!
Alert Neighbours
Fortunately, alert neighbours did respond and it was heartening to see how quickly people organised themselves into an effective spur-of-the-moment response! We are very grateful to all who got involved, and even more pleased that several radio holders went on to do checks that evening without the coordination of a controller.
This ability to respond organically as a community is perhaps our strongest asset. Nevertheless, we have come to enjoy relative security in our area, and many of us treasure the ability to keep our homes open to our wonderful natural surroundings, which poses risks. So, we all need to develop the habit of thinking about concentric circles of safety around ourselves and our homes, beginning with immediate personal safety and expanding to how we manage general access at broader levels.
Border Vulnerability
With the latter in mind, we have been paying particular attention to the borders of our area on the Chapmans Peak side, which primarily involve properties adjoining Chapman’s Peak Rd itself or an area of Public Open Space below the road. Exploration of the area has revealed an alarming number of properties with open access from above. Clearly this has been used as an entry point, not only for a number of burglaries but also for at least one home invasion in the past, with the road above forming an ideal escape route.
We are hopeful that the new development will provide significant camera coverage of more of the road, but this border needs a concerted effort if we are to eliminate it as a risk to the entire area. A first step would be for property owners to secure their borders with fencing, or at least some clear delineation and camera coverage. We are currently trying to contact all the relevant property owners, whom we hope to motivate collectively to assist us in finding a joint solution.
Bin-Pickers
We are again noticing what may be more of an influx of homeless people, and particularly the increase in numbers of ‘bin-pickers’ with some less-familiar faces. Linked to this we have noticed a resurgence of bins in the road on Thursday nights before collection.
We achieved a significant reduction in crime incidents on Thursdays and Fridays after our concerted effort to encourage everyone to only put bins out in the morning. The issue of ‘bin-pickers’ and also homeless people in our area is complex. We do not believe we can legally or practically prevent people entering the area or even sorting through our rubbish. However, we can engage with them, liaise with our security companies to monitor suspect individuals, report any form of settlement (Land invasion Hotline: 021 480 7700, Homeless Persons Hotline: 0800 87 2201), and limit reasons for people to enter the area.
Key to the latter is ensuring that properties are well secured, that ‘easy pickings’ are not left in the open and that all our bins are kept in at night! In aid of this, we have prepared a short and polite message we hope members will print out at home and stick onto any bins left out overnight! We are sure the odd bin will pop up every now and then, and hope this is a nice way to inform less-connected neighbours and bring them into the circle!
Red Herring Cameras
We are delighted to announce the establishment of an extensive camera network at the Red Herring Centre, which we hope will significantly improve vehicle safety in the area and deter more serious crime. All funded by the various businesses and the centre, they include overview cameras covering the intersections of Beach Rd with Mountain and Pine Rds. This adds significantly to our general monitoring capacity, particularly access to Mountain Rd, and we thank everyone at the Red Herring Centre for their contribution and involvement as part of our community!
Fire Risks
We are also pleased to report that fire surveillance cameras in the area have also been upgraded, allowing for quicker detection and response. This comes at a time when fire risks are particularly high and a number of cases of suspected arson have been reported. So, if you have not already done so, now is a good time to reduce fuel loads around your house!!
Community Involvement
A continual challenge we face, along with all community organisations, is the challenge of community involvement and participation. The irony with neighbourhood security is that an increased investment of time and resources by some individuals that succeeds in reducing crime then disincentivises participation by others! In the Chapman’s Peak area we have exceptional levels of participation in a range of efforts, spearheaded by several exceptional organisations.
Nevertheless, and particularly for anyone who has been a victim of crime, we are painfully aware of how much more could be done. The relationships we have with our armed response (AR) company partners and our collective bargaining approach with them is fundamental to this. But it is highly dependent on membership numbers, and both companies regularly protest that the current numbers do not justify the resources they dedicate to our area. Our data shows that almost 75% of residents are CPNW members, with 80% also employing a security company.
Our most reliable source of income, as CPNW, comes from a voluntary surcharge of R30 collected by the security companies each month and handed over to us, which, according to our agreements with the companies, is offered to residents when they sign up. Currently however, we only receive remittances from about 50% of AR Company customers in the area.
We would therefore be grateful if those who would like to support us financially (or who assume that this is happening), please check that this payment is being made (it should be noted on your invoices) and either take steps to rectify it or make an equivalent annual contribution to CPNW. We gratefully acknowledge those who already do so, including many members who do not have AR.
Freeloaders!
Whilst the numbers may sound relatively good, they do suggest that one out of every three residences in the area does not employ an AR service, and one in four is totally reliant on vicarious protection from the efforts of their neighbours! Most importantly, if we could get the investment of that ‘missing’ one third of our community, we would be guaranteed significantly more resources than what we are constantly battling to retain. Of course, in putting out this message in a CPNW newsletter or at our AGM we are basically preaching to the converted, and while we always encourage everyone to ‘sign up a neighbour’, the real ‘freeloaders’ will continue to benefit whilst undermining what we could otherwise achieve.
City Improvement District Initiative
A potential solution to this, which has been raised before, is the establishment of a City Improvement District (CID) in our area. This would involve all residents in the area paying a surcharge on rates, which is then spent on such things as security and public safety measures, cleansing services, maintenance of infrastructure, environmental initiatives, social interventions or any other services the community might require.
An initiative to do this for the whole of Noordhoek was launched in 2021 with the support of the NRPA, but it eventually ran aground despite the hard work of members of the steering committee. A particular obstruction in that process was achieving the required mandate of 60% of residents, something that CPNW may be uniquely placed to achieve in our neighbourhood, given our existing membership figures. The CID Committee would need to be established as an NPO, and expenditure would be determined by an annual Business Plan presented for approval at its AGM. Further information about CIDs can be found on the City’s Website at:
https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/residential-property-and-houses/private-properties/city-improvement-districts
This would clearly be a major undertaking, which might substantially change the face of CPNW, as well as of other community initiatives in the area, but if successful, might be a logical ‘next step’ in our community’s development. We would love to hear your thoughts on this! So please let us know how you feel by reply to this email!
Please Update Your Contact Details
Lastly, in terms of keeping our data accurate: If you have sold your house and moved out of the area, or if you have changed residences within Chapman’s Peak, or if you have new tenants, please could you let Karen know by emailing her at: membership@cpnw.org.za. She faces a constant battle to keep our membership information up to date!
As we greet the first signs of rain and cooler weather, we wish everyone a wonderful and safe autumn!
The CPNW Committee.
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