Community and CPF fight back
The local CPF has seen more than a 40 per cent decline in crime in the area.
COMMUNITY involvement is key to any successful partnership. This is especially true for the Sector 3A Community Policing Forum (CPF) of uMhlanga. The sector encompasses everywhere from Saratoga Park in La Lucia to the Breakers Resort in uMhlanga, and is split between residential areas and those managed by the uMhlanga Urban Improvement Precinct (UIP).
What’s more, in the last six months the local CPF has seen more than a 40 per cent decline in crime in the area. According to one of the members, Dudley Horn, one aspect that has helped has been the involvement of the community by designating ‘street captains’.
“We have come a long way since the inception of the ‘street captain’ initiative. From 2009 to 2012 the residential area within our sector was hardest hit with break-ins; however, since the introduction of the initiative we have seen a dramatic decline in the crime rate. To explain the concept, we have more than 20 residential streets in the area and each of them has a voluntary ‘street captain’.
“They act as a conduit between the SAPS and the residents. The captains meet regularly to collate information and to implement crime prevention measures. Once a crime is reported via the CPF system we track its progress from the arrest to the conviction,” Horn said.
The CPF has more than 500 residents on the database, and through the CPF initiative has secured the arrests of six people in the last month.
However, the CPF does not just operate within the ambit of crime prevention.
“We monitor all potholes in the area, defective street lights and other municipality-related issues. We are also involved in taking down invasive plants and trees in the area, as well as dune rehabilitation.
“We also have a graffiti squad, based on a similar ethos as that of former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani. The minute we spot any graffiti or tags, we paint over them within hours. So, by the end of the day, that blot will be painted over,” he said.
“Through our partnership with the SAPS and the involvement of residents we have forged and fostered a growing sense of community, which is just fantastic.”
