Pretoria SAPS spoil car guards for Father’s Day

Car guards making their way to the South African Police Service (SAPS) Brooklyn is a familiar routine on Thursday mornings.

This is a complete different picture from the past, when car guards ran away when they saw a police officer.

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For many years, informal car guards in the congested parking areas in Hatfield and surroundings of the University of Pretoria were seen as an irritation and a crime contributor. The relationship between the car guards and the police was always contentious and adversarial.

The Brooklyn SAPS adopted a crime-prevention approach in January this year by involving the car guards in an upliftment programme.

Station commander Brigadier Kushie Nair took initiative by establishing a car guard forum.

She wants the initiative to address deeply entrenched social inequalities, which will give the car guards back some of their dignity that will make them respectful and law-abiding residents of the Brooklyn policing precinct.

A database with details of about 150 car guards has been established. The University of Pretoria’s community engagement department got onboard with a life skills training programme.

The car guards are very dedicated to these training sessions and crime-prevention meetings every Thursday morning. The staff at the Pick ‘n Pay store in Hillcrest opened their hearts by providing lunch on these training days.

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The programme has begun to yield fruit. Some of the car guards got permanent employment into a vegetable garden project in Hatfield together with the University of Pretoria.

A businessman from Hatfield employed others to manage his parking bays. A clinic is established to address medical needs, and social workers are available to help the car guards solve and cope with problems in their everyday lives.

The car guards elected their own president, Nxolisi Vuyani Gabela, 31, and chairperson, Michael Ndimande, 30, who represent the car guards on the Brooklyn Community Police Forum. They now actively take part in crime-prevention discussions.

The most important factor is that there is a slight decline in vehicle-related crimes in Hatfield. For this reason, Brigadier Nair decided she is going to spoil the car guards for Father’s Day.

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Security companies and residents helped her by donating beanies, scarves and hand gloves for a Father’s Day “goody” bag.

Nair said the change she was seeing in these men’s behaviour, the way they were starting to dress and the responsibility they were taking in helping to make Hatfield safe, made her extremely proud.

She said that Thurday’s event with “goody” bags and treats was to acknowledge the human being behind the reflector jacket.

“During the day they are like fathers looking after the young people’s vehicles and their safety,” Nair said.

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