This year the Sophiatown Neighbourhood Watch has taken it in their stride to continue putting the needs of the community first.
Sophiatown Neighbourhood Watch chairperson Dauw Steyn said with the increase of crime, especially in the Westdene area, that will be one of their main focuses for other residents to get to know each other and engage.
Due to their visible effectiveness last year, they are working on getting the meetings up and running.
The other project which is being piloted is installing street camera’s which are mounted on houses, which they will have remote access to in order to make it easier to identify suspects.
“We will also be launching the whistle campaign which is not a normal whistle but has a unique sound, where each house will have one in order to alert other residents when you in danger.
At times when you’re in danger your unable to reach for your phone or able to shout for help,” said Steyn.
He added due to the influx of students in the area are also victims of crimes, they plan to launch a student forum this year in order to engage students.
They aren’t as involved in the area and the community itself. During the December, January period there were a number of student communes which were targeted.
“Another campaign we aim to launch is with the Uber drivers getting to know the drivers and including them into our database, since there’s a number of them who work in the area,” said Steyn.
The date of the next meetings will be published on all their social media accounts and their street Whatsapp group.
Details: Dauw Steyn, dauwq.steyn@gmail.com
Details: dauwq.steyn@gmail.com
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