Upper uMhlanga takes back community safety

FED up with crime, a couple of neighbours from the Upper uMhlanga have decided to be proactive when it comes to protecting their families. They have formed Upper uMhlanga Neighbourhood Security Trust, complete with its own operations manager and operations office at the Hilken Centre.

Upper Umhlanga is the area above the M4, bordered by Herald Drive and the Hawaan Forest to the north, Herrwood Drive to the west and uMhlanga Rocks Drive to the south.

Now, most residents sleep soundly knowing that there are guards in huts on most street corners in the suburb. But none of this could have happened without the dedication of a handful of residents.

A group of residents held a meeting early last year about the crime situation in the area following a massive increase of various crimes. Among these crimes was the murder of an elderly woman in Egret Road last year.

“Crime in our area has spiraled out of control. As we become better informed we are becoming acutely aware of the real crime statistics and the nature of crime affecting us,” said Andrew Fraser, chairman of the trust.

Fraser said it was important for the community to do something before it was too late: “Our suburb is looking shabby and as a consequence our property values are taking a hard knock.”

From an early stage the trustees decided to gather data, set up a Whatsapp group and relationships with key role players at the Durban North Police Station, eThekwini Municipality and the uMhlanga Urban Improvement Precinct.

“We realised that if we mended these relationships, the communication between the community and key stakeholders would improve and so would the crime situation,” Fraser added.

When the trust was formed, the trustees visited a few security companies: “We told these companies we didn’t want reactive services, but proactive services. Our aim is to prevent crimes from happening even before they happen. We then went through a rigorous selection process and found that Marshall Security and Enforce were the only two companies that could meet our needs.”

The proactive security has even been extended to the police and security companies sweeping the Hawaan Forest, bushy areas and getting rid of vagrants and other unwanted criminal elements in the area.

“Then, we knew for this project to be sustainable, we needed someone to drive the operation on a full-time basis, which is where the operations manager, Kevin Webster, comes in. Kevin is our link between the police, eThekwini Municipality and security companies,” Fraser said.

But, while the main aim for the trust is to keep the immediate community safe, there’s also a social responsibility aspect to it: “Future plans include employing youth from Blackburn Informal Settlement (Chopper Town). We feel that a huge part of the problem we have is the unemployment issue. We are also installing CCTV cameras on various streets. This will be installed by Marshall Security and Enforce,” Fraser added.

According to Fraser, this non-profit organisation, which is also separately audited and managed by an agency, is still in its early days: “The initiative is a work in progress, but we are very encouraged by the support of the community rallying around us with the numbers growing every day.

“This is a project purely about us doing something for ourselves. It’s up to us alone. You will always get a few selfish freeloaders, but if we all back ourselves and pitch in, we can displace crime which means that the community will enjoy an improved lifestyle and consequent improved property values.”

To become a member of the security trust, contact Kevin Webster on 082 694 3100 or email kevin@upper-umhlanga.co.za