Sector 9’s Community Policing Forum (CPF) has undergone a revamp and resurfaced with new members and a new chairperson.
“CPFs are the eyes and ears of the police – they help both the community and the police in different situations such as medical crises or cases of crime,” said Pierre Pretorius, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Sector 9 CPF.
“No matter how well resourced they are, our police service cannot do everything on their own and that is why CPFs are important.”
With 30 people patrolling the area daily, the 600-member Sector 9 CPF covers the areas of Mindalore and Lewisham.
These crime-fighting community heroes also have a drug team that conducts regular operations with the police.
“Some of our patrollers are Level 3 first-aiders too. We work very closely with the police to help them make the sector a safe place to live in,” Pierre told the News.
The CPF is now more prepared than ever to continue serving their community with a new leader at the helm.
“We would like to introduce our new chairperson, Attie Els. He is very helpful and will always go out of his way to help other people. He has the full support and back-up of all the patrollers,”said Pierre.
Attie, who resides in the community that he serves, has been part of the CPF from the very beginning, and is dedicated to and proud of his new leadership role.
As with any organisation, the CPF has not gone without its fair share of problems. According to Pierre they deal with many hijackings and house break-ins. They have faced, and overcome, the challenge of winning over the community, getting them to join the CPF and help in the fight for a safer place to live. These challenges have not deterred them from their goal, which is to have a safer community.
“One of our highlights is seeing our community members stand together, growing closer and closer and helping each other in times of need.”
The CPF appeals to the community to attend the monthly community meetings so that they are informed about what happens in their area and are updated with safety tips.
“We all know that the festive season is upon us and that it’s always a busy time of the year, so we ask the community to be on the lookout for suspicious vehicles or people, and ask them to please keep their property’s gates closed. All our patrollers love the community, which is why we leave our own families at home at night and try to make Sector 9 a better place to live in.”
He went on to say the CPF would like to thank the community for its support and trust for almost two years because without them, patrollers would not be able to do their job well.
Residents can breathe easy knowing that all Sector 9 patrollers have completed a patrollers’ training course and are certified. Furthermore, the first-aiders have passed Level 1, 2, and 3 training in line with their field.
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