‘Gaan Vryheid saamwerk om saam misdaad te beveg?’

CRIME is on the rise and it’s no surprise that criminals are becoming wiser about when to strike.

In the last few weeks, Vryheid has been plagued by criminal activity and, according to Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch Chairman, Andrè Rheder, most of this has taken place during daylight hours, and especially on Sunday mornings when people attend church.

The members of Vryheid Neighbourhood Watch who patrol regularly in the evenings do so voluntarily and are not always available to patrol during the day due to work responsibilities. Unfortunately, the criminal element has become well aware of this and routines have been adapted, it seems, to take advantage of this fact.

“Gaan Vryheid saamwerk om saam misdaad te beveg?” asks Rheder. “Ons kort meer oë om waarneming te doen. Die dae van wag dat iemand anders dit doen is verby. Ons almal moet help…”

Rheder’s appeal to the community does not come without a solution and, after researching the pros and cons in the communication options available, the solution that has been decided upon is a relatively well-known cellphone application known as the Zello ‘walkie-talkie’ app.

“Zello is a free push-to-talk application for smartphones, tablets and PCs.” states the website, zello.com. “It’s lightweight, easy to use and extremely fast. Better yet, it’s free and will remain free for personal use.”

“Ek wil vra dat gesinne Zello laai op hul Android en iPhone fone en inskakel op sektor groepe wat weer inskakel met die patrollie groep,” states Rheder. “Basies ‘n tipe sel-groep om misdaad te rapporteer… Dit is vir julle eie veiligheid. Die app gebruik data en kan aan en afgeskakel word. The app can also be configured to make use of your wi fi at home. Basies ‘n radio wat in jou selfoon gebou is wat data gebruik.”

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