Beating crime as a community

“Editor, the question should have been: “what can we do as residents to help police to fight this ever rising crime?”
This was North Coast resident Nkosinathi Msweli’s response to the question posed on the Courier’s Facebook page asking locals if they had been affected by crime. The Courier touched base with Ballito and Salt Rock Neighbourhood Watch groups to get their take on how a community can pull together to curb crime.
“It is all about creating a community spirit,” said chairman of the Salt Rock Watch, Martin Parry.
“The watch is about pooling our resources and having a set of eyes and ears so that people know what is happening in our area. It is that little old lady who sees something suspicious and lets the group know. That is all it takes.”
Michelle Mann, a committee member on the Ballito Neighbourhood Watch, echoed Parry’s sentiments.
“Our members have WhatsApp groups with neighbours on their roads and we talk to each other all day,” she said.
The Ballito Watch has also been painting house numbers on roads to help police to be able to easily identify houses.
Joining, or even creating a local neighbourhood watch is one way that a community can become more aware of crime in their area, and both of these watches agree that a united community is a deterrent to would-be criminals.
“We had three break-ins in the space of three weeks on my road. Everybody then got involved and the crime moved out of the area,” said Mann.
“Information is power. Form an alliance with your own neighbours, know the people around you,” said Parry.

Those interested in joining the Salt Rock Neighbourhood Watch contact Martin Parry on 082 554 2269. For the Ballito Neighbourhood Watch contact Rob Hardstone on 082 414 1313.