The best way to deal with trouble is to stop it before it begins.
This according to security expert Danny Maduray, CEO of Ria Sebetsa. “All communities are safer when citizens act together and crime rates decline or remain low. Neighbourhood safety is a shared responsibility in which people, security companies and police have important roles,” said Maduray.
He said taking small steps is often the best way to start building a community, which should involve simple things such as alerting neighbours of suspicious activity.
“It is advisable to affiliate with local community WhatsApp groups. Whenever the community sees anything suspicious they post a message on the group and a security company… can respond to those in distress,” said Maduray.
He said WhatsApp groups were a double-edged sword. “In many cases the distress message or calls are false alarms, but this does create a great impression to many loiterers that they are being watched and security is on top of the neighbourhood safety,” he said.
“I encourage all communities to start this initiative with their local security companies as this can assist in bringing down crime drastically.”
Maduray also had the following suggestions for building your community:
- Get to know one another – residents should become familiar with the routine in their neighbourhoods
- Be aware of strangers and look out for each other
- Leave keys and emergency phone numbers with a trusted neighbour/family/friend
- Keep up appearances – a well-tended neighbourhood is less attractive to criminals and vandals
- Get involved in crime prevention – form a block watch, neighbourhood watch or perhaps join your local Community Police Forum.
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