After 25 years of experience in various prosecuting capacities, Senior State Advocate Deon van Wyk believes he has the solution to violent crime in the suburbs.
In his career Van Wyk has received various commendations, expert training (which includes training by the US Department of Justice) and faced some of the biggest guns in the law fraternity, which include opponents such as Advocate Barry Roux. He has made it his singular pursuit to research violent crime and find a solution. His solution? Voluntary associations (VA).
A basic outline for a VA:
A. The threat:
Increasingly violent crime that often includes senseless and deadly force. The perpetration of these crimes has become more organised as it involves multiple perpetrators who plan it with the foreseeability that death might be a consequence.
B. Change in mindset to better prevent and deal with the latest crime trends:
IDEOLOGY
Although it is trite that there are many community groups all over the country that realise that unity and caring are required to survive the current crime wave, many such groups are limited to theory.
A VA is created with the understanding that –
• security cannot be bought
• to effectively enhance our security, the community involvement cannot include or tolerate any form of politics or divides
• the demographics of our community is such that smaller areas must be created within which various security measures/ infrastructure are duplicated
• communities are united on a level of ‘survival’ and not along continuums of status, income or mere WhatsApp groups
• all forms of diversity must become unimportant and subside to the basic needs of vulnerability. This can only be achieved if there is a full understanding of the threat that we face
• the initiative is for the community, created by the community, hence each member is an owner thereof
• this approach ensures the sustainability thereof as no other service or service provider defines the initiative, as same is not bought. Consequently the expectation of security does not solely lie with a security contract, but with the vigilance and caring of each member
• because we care, we communicate with our hearts and not our wallets
• membership is and WILL remain free
• the infrastructure and operation of the initiative must be kept simple and free of complicated processes and protocols
• this simple approach aligns with the level at which we interact with each other, therefore obviating the need to always be procedurally and politically correct
• the VA acknowledges the Constitutional right to freedom and freedom of association
• for this reason we do not encourage or discourage any person to join or not join any other organisation with similar aims, as the VA is community-based and community-specific
• for this reason the VA is not in competition with any similar organisations as the main aim is to unite its members in ensuring their safety by caring for each other
C. Based on this approach, the following infrastructure must be created with the aim to duplicate in all blocks:
(Note: All dedicated service providers render their services in accordance with a legally enforceable service level agreement (SLA) entered into with the VA. The reason for this is to maintain the original philosophy that the initiative remains the property of the community, which will define and ensure the sustainability thereof. The said SLAs ensure additional security and related services, which cannot be procured on an individual contract basis.)
• WhatsApp communication
• Security
• A community support centre
• Community welfare
• Animal welfare
• Community projects
• Community administration
• Marketing and public relations
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