BCPF bids farewell to Henry
“When I stood for my second term I made it quite clear that I could not do the full five years."
The chairperson for the Bedfordview Community Police Forum (BCPF), Gavin Henry, has announced his resignation from the forum.
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He will be giving up the bustling city life for a quieter coastal one.
“When I stood for my second term, I made it quite clear that I could not do the full five years. Now, due to the advent of viable online work and the blessing of a business that has boomed during lockdown, I have decided to pursue my lifelong dream of living in Knysna,” Henry said.
He joined the CPF in 2012 after an armed robbery at his house.
“I was shocked to see the lack of resources and commitment from SAPS at the time.”
In 2014 he was elected chairperson of the forum.
“With a small team, we set our goals to growing the CPF, to unifying the security services, community and SAPS and to grow the funding of the CPF.”
Henry said working with his committee he also wanted to reduce crime, specifically violent contact crime in the Bedfordview precinct.
“I believe my team and I have achieved all of these goals and then some.”
Since taking up the position of BCPF head, Henry and his committee have grown the forum to include 60 vetted and active patrollers in all areas including those from Klopperpark and Elandsfontein.
“We also have 15 trained and qualified victim empowerment councillors. We have created 11 WhatsApp groups specifically for residents to call for help in an emergency. These groups have proven successful in preventing crimes, and indeed catching and arresting criminals,” Henry said.
“Specific credit must be given to RAG and BSG who always respond, even if the call for help is not from one of their clients.
“It has been eye-opening to see the true commitment to reducing crime of security companies either owned or managed by residents of the suburb.”
He thanked every person and business that donated funds to the BCPF over the last few years.
“Special mention must go to Murray & Roberts, a true stalwart in our funding over all these years.”
Henry highlighted some of the key projects undertaken by the BCPF since his election as chairperson.
“We re-tared the station and we all as fenced it off. The BCPF also upgraded the station parking area and created a fully functional, state of the art SAPS boardroom.
“We created a victim support room which can offer temporary accommodation specifically catered to victims of gender-based violence,” he said.
Henry added that the BCPF’s biggest project was the creation of a suburb wide structure of smart cameras.
“We invested over R1-million in this project and it has proved to be highly successful in combating crime and indeed catching criminals.
“Despite these massive projects I am happy to report that our funding is strong and we have added to our operational reserves,” he said.
Henry thanked his executive team.
“With the current and very competent station management and with the assistance of the security companies, crime is dramatically and demonstratively down over the last few years. There are not many suburbs that can claim this.”
Henry assured members of the community that he has left a competent interim committee to run the CPF.
“I have full confidence in their abilities. I wish everyone involved in the protection of our families every success in the future,” he said.
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