Crime rates in South Africa have remained a problem since 1994 and the South African Police Service appears unable to provide the protection that citizens need. In rural and urban areas across the country people live in fear of crime. In Johannesburg, up to 60% of residents don’t feel safe in their own homes at night. It’s hardly surprising that people have started to introduce additional security measures to their homes and are increasingly using the armed response and patrol services of private security firms. However, for poorer people, employing a private security company is not an affordable option. The answer for some is volunteer-based, community safety initiatives.

Contents

What are Community Safety Initiatives?
Neighbourhood and Block Watches
Paid Patrols
Enclosed Neighbourhoods
Closed Circuit TV
Making your Community Safety Initiative Work
Further Information

What Are Community Safety Initiatives?

In essence, any community action to improve security in a particular neighbourhood constitutes a community safety initiative. These initiatives vary from formalised structures, such as the Community Policing Forum, to informal efforts by small groups of residents.

This article takes a look at some of the activities that different communities across the country have engaged in to improve their safety.

Different initiatives include:

• neighbourhood watches
• domestic worker’s watch
• block watches
• community patrols
• street committees
• enclosed neighbourhoods
• cctv
• various combinations of the above.

Neighbourhood and Block Watches

Strictly speaking a neighbourhood watch is a community initiative to increase security in a neighbourhood through passive measures such as marking of property and increased community awareness.

A block watch on the other hand, involves more active measures such as voluntary patrols through the community.

In reality these terms are used interchangeably . For the sake of clarity, I will stick to the definitions provided above, unless otherwise indicated.

SA Neighbourhood Watch

SA Neighbourhood Watch is a non-profit organisation that assists people to set up neighbourhood watches in their own communities. For a fee of R65 per person the organisation provides advice and informational materials on how to best operate the neighbourhood watch, the use of a communal engraver to mark possessions and signage containing the neighbourhood watch logo.

The model recommended by SA Neighbourhood Watch is based on four key principles:

1. Property that is permanently marked is less likely to be stolen and more likely to be recovered if it is stolen.
2. The police are best positioned to deal with suspicious people or vehicles once the neighbourhood watch has spotted them.
3. Community members can derive the greatest benefit from a neighbourhood watch scheme if they all simply practice good neighbourliness and keep an eye each other and each other’s property.
4. Visible SA Neighbourhood Watch signage will discourage criminals.

SA Neighbourhood Watch does not recommend block patrols as it believes that such patrols place the neighbourhood watch members at risk and that it is equally effective for members of the neighbourhood watch to look up and down their block every few hours. Members are not allowed to undertake neighbourhood patrols in the name of SA Neighbourhood Watch.

You can contact the SA Neighbourhood Watch National Office at:

PO Box 523, Bruma, 2026
Tel: 011 648 1538
Fax: 011 487 2570

How do you Start a Neighbourhood or Block Watch?

You can create a neighbourhood watch as part of the SA Neighbourhood Watch network, or you can establish an independent group in your neighbourhood.

Registration requirements will depend on the province in which you are situated.

Before you start a new watch you should find out if one already exists in the area. You can do this by contacting your local police station or Community Policing Forum or by speaking to SA Neighbourhood Watch or the Provincial Department responsible for community safety.

If there is no watch in your area, contact your neighbours to find out if others are interested. Once you have a group of people who are willing to take the watch forward, you can arrange a meeting to discuss the area that the watch will protect, the nature of the watch’s activities and what members will have to contribute.

Some of the issues that it is useful to clarify or consider are:

• What area you will covering
• What activities the watch will be involved in
• A code of conduct.

The Western Cape Code of Conduct for Neighbourhood Watches is a useful guideline for all watches. Neighbourhood watches in the Western Cape are required to adhere to the Code and to register with the Department of Community Safety. In return, the Department can assist watches to access equipment (such as bicycles, torches and first aid kits).

For more information on the Western Cape Neighbourhood Watch support programme visit the Cape Gateway website or contact:

John Cloete
Assistant Director: Security Projects
Directorate Social Crime Prevention, Department of Community Safety
Tel: 021 483 4571
Fax: 021 483 2016
Cell: 082 574 4845
jcloete@pawc.wcape.gov.za.

Neighbourhood Watch
Perceived Pros	Perceived Cons
Anonymity of Reports Avoids Reprisals Increased Community Spirit	Insufficient Visibility

Domestic Worker’s Watches

This is another variation on the neighbourhood watch. Domestic workers employed in an area are requested to keep an eye on other properties in the neighbourhood and to report any suspicious activities to the police.

This form of watch can be especially effective as most thefts and burglaries take place between 10 and 12 in the morning when residents are at work.

A domestic worker watch can easily be integrated with a residential neighbourhood or block watch.

To Patrol or not to Patrol

One of the main issues that a community watch needs to decide on is what kinds of activities it will participate in. One key question is whether the community members will volunteer to patrol the neighbourhood.

As mentioned previously, SA Neighbourhood Watch does not encourage patrols because it doesn’t believe that community members should place themselves in harm’s way.

However some communities believe that in order for a watch to be effective it needs to be more visible and play a more proactive role in the community. The scale of these activities can vary enormously.

One extreme is the Rossetenville Street Watch which has generated a great deal of media attention due to its controversial and often violent methods. The Watch consists of a small core group of participants who patrol the neighbourhood regularly (both during the day and during the evenings).

There are many less severe examples, where members of the community take it in turns to patrol the community, keeping an eye out for suspicious people or vehicles and reporting any incidents to the police.

Volunteer Patrols
Perceived Pros	Perceived Cons
Increased community cohesion Proactive measure Reduced crime	When crime decreases, volunteers lose interest Reliant on sustained community enthusiasm and commitment Volunteers may be injured if they confront suspicious persons

Paid Patrols

In some instances, residents have chosen to employ patrol guards to patrol the neighbourhood on foot, on bicycles or in vehicles. The structures and activities of these initiatives vary enormously. For example the Rate Payer’s Association may manage the patrols or an entirely new entity can be established, as in the case of ObzWatch, a community policing initiative in Observatory, Cape Town.

ObzWatch

This section 21 (not for profit) company was established specifically to improve safety in the Observatory area. It collects monthly contributions of R75 from participating residents and businesses to employ patrol guards that roam through the neighbourhood on foot and on bicycle 24 hours a day. There are currently 32 paid employees patrolling the streets. All are trained as police reservists.

Only 25% of the community make contributions to the initiative. Frank Rendall, a board member of the organisation, believes that this is largely due to the fact that many of the properties in the area are rented out and that tenants are not as concerned about the safety of the community as property owners. ObzWatch is working with rental agents in the area to encourage property owners and tenants to contribute to the initiative.

Contributing households are supplied with signage and can call ObzWatch to respond to emergencies.

Private Security Companies

Most private security companies offer a reactive service, whereby they respond to distress calls or alarm activations. Some however, also offer a patrol service to residents in a particular area for a monthly fee.

Paid Patrols
Perceived Pros	Perceived Cons
Trained security officers patrol the neighbourhood The management of the initiative is outsourced and is not dependent on community participation beyond the monthly contributions	Private security guards are open to corruption

Enclosed Neighbourhoods

A number of communities in South Africa, especially in Gauteng, have decided to restrict access to their neighbourhoods as a means of reducing crime.

There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of limiting access to a community. For detailed information on enclosed neighbourhoods and the pros and cons of this community safety option, see the article “Enclosed Neighbourhoods: The Debate”.

It is very important that communities who want to build fences around their communities, close off roads or erect security booms across roads must first get clearance from their local municipality.

Closed Circuit TV

Using technology can also be an effective way to beef up security, not just in your home but also in your neighbourhood.

In central Johannesburg the use of closed circuit television cameras has been extremely successful, reducing certain categories of crime in the areas involved by up to 80% in some cases, with response times of under a minute.

Unfortunately the costs of a CCTV system are prohibitive.

CCTV
Perceived Pros	Perceived Cons
Not invasive Effective	Expensive

Making Your Community Safety Initiative Work

Getting started

Before deciding on the kind of initiative that you want to start in your community, it is best to consult with your neighbours. You can do this through informal one-on-one discussions or by organising a community meeting. You can also use the local press to communicate your ideas with your community.

Discuss the options with your local police and Community Policing Forum. Community Safety initiatives are most effective when they work hand-in-hand with the police. It is important for the success of your project to establish a good working relationship with your local police officers from the outset.

Ensure that you have complied with any local or provincial registration or application requirements.

Support

Groups or organisations in your neighbourhood that can play an important role and can contribute to the success of a community safety initiative include:

• Local SAPS
• Municipal Police
• The Local Council
• The Rate Payers’ Association
• The Community Business Association
• The Community Policing Forum
• City Improvement District (if there is one)

Operational support may be available from your local or provincial authority or from the SAPS. For example, the Western Cape Department of Community Safety provides some equipment and training for registered neighbourhood watches.

Training for members can significantly increase the effectiveness of the community watches and can improve the safety of any members who go out on patrol. Training can include:

• Police reservist training
• conflict resolution
• human rights
• first aid, and
• self-defence.

Many Community Safety Initiatives send members or employees to the police for training as police reservists. Others recruit existing reservists to participate in their programme.

As mentioned previously, one of the most effective means of ensuring that your community initiative is successful is to work closely with the police and other community organisations. It is also important to keep community members updated on the activities, successes and challenges facing the initiative.

Further Information

These are some related sites:

• SA Neighbourhood Watch Website
• The Booysens Community Police Forum website contains a number of useful resources including crime prevention guidelines and a home security booklet.
• Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
• Community Policing Consortium
• UK Neighbourhood Watch

Helen Alexander
Helen Alexander is a freelance researcher. A law graduate, she was formerly the advocacy coordinator for SWEAT.