LIFCO takes care of crime hot spot

While the upcoming festive season can be vibrant and busy, the Little Falls and Strubens Valley Residential Community (LIFCO) in partnership with local businesses and residents are not taking a chance with criminal activity.

The resilient and caring Residents Association recently re-fenced the informal entry and exit point into Little Falls via the green belt between Witwatersrand and Christiaan de Wet Roads for the safety of the community.

The installation of the palisade fence on the green belt isn’t something new as these had been erected last year, but some parts were stolen – again creating easy access into the quiet suburb.

Michael Jones, whose internet service provider (ISP) company MVT Tech was the main sponsor of the project, told Northsider that they’ve been trying to get the community to club in to the project again but the contributions weren’t enough.

“We tried most social media platforms to raise the funds, but as a result of Covid-19 people were kind of tight with finances, so my company decided that we would settle the balance of what had been contributed by the community as well as LIFCO,” he explained.

Michael said that he also sponsored the manpower and hours to install the palisades, floodlight and cameras; however, all this hard work only for some sections to be stolen a day after on 1 November.

“On 3 November, we went back to get them re-installed, plus readjusted the cameras and beefed up other security measures as this is a quick getaway route for criminals,” he said.

Michael said this project was done in partnership with BCI Security whose control room will monitor the live cameras on a 24-hour basis to ensure that the palisades do not disappear again.

BCI’s Marius van der Merwe, who viewed this security project as a step in the right direction, reminded residents of how unsafe the greenbelt is without security systems.
“In 2018, one of my reaction officers was almost killed while locking the pedestrian gate. He survived, thanks to the bulletproof vest that prevented the bullet from penetrating his abdomen,” he said.

He added that this area needs to be permanently enclosed because people’s lives are at risk.
Michael emphasised the intent of such a project, saying that it’s to install protection in insecure spots as they’ve done successfully in the past with other parts of the area.

However, for such projects to be executed, Michael said LIFCO requires commitment from the residents. “Essentially, we want the community to contribute towards these causes as they are meant for the community,” he appealed, also discouraging the notion of complaining about security without contributing to the solution.

To join or learn more about LIFCO visit: https://lifco.co.za/.