Screening the community beat
FOURWAYS - The Douglasdale Community Policing Forum unveiled an exciting and innovative new project at its annual general meeting which will change the face of Fourways.
Chairperson of the forum, Jean Berdou introduced the forum’s Advertising Screen Initiative, Community Beat. The initiative is a joint venture between four organisations – the Douglasdale forum, Lamp Africa, Screen Media and Loud Group. Cathy Steyn, one of the key people involved with the initiative explained that the project entailed the placing of two digital billboards in the Fourways community for local businesses to advertise, but also to supply the community with live crime updates.
“We’ve realised that people are roughly in a car for 40 hours a month which means they are a captive audience,” she said. Berdou said the live crime updates would help the police by warning residents to be on the lookout and reminding them to contact the police with any information they may have on the crime.
The digital billboards can feature either stationary or animated ads. The revenue generated from advertising will be used to help the forum and the police in their crime fighting endeavours. The billboards are set to be erected outside the Indaba Hotel on William Nicol Drive and the Outgas Police Station on Witkoppen Road.
According to Steyn the first of the billboards will be erected by the end of this year. She said they were hoping neighbouring suburbs would take up the initiative and that it may even be rolled out nationally. Gauteng Community Policing Forum chairperson, Andy Mashaile praised the initiative and said the key to making countries better were public/private partnerships.
Details: www.ddcpf.co.za
