A clean and clear park is a safe one
JOBURG – Just over 26 per cent of rapes reported have taken place in public spaces such as parks and streets.
Beagle Watch environmental team embarks on a park clean-up campaign.
Beagle Watch swapped their firearms and pepper sprays for rakes and refuse bags on 9 September to host a clean-up of parks in the suburbs of Fairland and Berario. The clean-up, which forms part of Beagle Watch Armed Response’s ongoing community involvement efforts, was aimed at clearing any potential safety and security risk caused by the park. On the day, the team managed to cover four parks and remove more than seven truckloads of waste, also stopping on the way to clean waste that had been dumped illegally on Smit Street in Fairland. Beagle Watch general manager André Aiton expressed, “While we are not trying to take over the job of the City of Johannesburg or City Parks, we focus on cleaning up areas that could potentially pose a security risk.”
Beagle Watch is on the right track as the 2019/2020 reported crimes show that public spaces such as parks, beaches, streets and recreational areas are the places of occurrence of 9 714 murders and 7 735 attempted murders. The majority of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm cases were reported to have taken place at such spaces with a total of 30 272 cases while common assaults stood at 25 438. More shockingly, just over 26 per cent of all rapes reported to the police have taken place in public spaces – Gauteng had 2 122 reported rape cases out of a total of 7940.
Beagle Watch committed itself to keeping the area safe and secure. Aiton added, “At Beagle Watch, we are a proud member of the communities we serve. Being based in Fairland, the suburbs of Fairland, Northcliff, Berario and surrounds are particularly close to our hearts.” Members of the public are advised to contact the police or security company when they see any suspicious activities taking place in public parks.
André Aiton, General Manager of Beagle Watch Armed Response, is pictured (centre) with members of the Beagle Watch Environmental team that embarked on a major clean-up of the parks in Fairland and Berario on 9 September.
