Youth patrollers keep Soshanguve streets safe
The youngsters are on the streets as early as 03:00 to escort community member to bus stops, taxi ranks and train stations.
Soshanguve Block L youth have launched an anti-crime patrol to drive the scourge away from their streets.
They founded the Neighbourhood Watch NWPU NPC community safety organisation in 2021 after a series of robberies.
Speaking to Rekord, chairperson of the neighbourhood watch, Solomon Tsotetsi, said his team is out in the streets at 03:00 every morning to escort community members to their departure spots.
Tsotetsi said this is important because street robbery is the most common crime in the area.
“There is a clinic in our area and patients stand in queues early in the morning to receive medical help,” he said.
“The patients were once robbed while in the queue, so we decided to patrol around the area to make sure that they are safe.”
He said street crime in the areas their patrol covered has reduced significantly especially in Aubrey Matlala Road because his team is vigilant.
“Our only challenge currently is TUT students because they travel with valuable items that attract criminals,” he said.
“We are, however, working hard to engage with the school to work with us and help the students.”
When asked what they do when they apprehend a criminal during a patrol, Tsotetsi said police are called to make an arrest.
Tsotetsi said the organisation then makes follow-ups to ensure that justice is served.
“We don’t take the law into their own hands,” he added.
The neighbourhood watch is made up of 25 young people with only three members that are older than 35 years of age.
The patrollers are volunteers from the community and rely on donations from community members.
Tsotetsi said the patrol programme is one of many that they run such as the sanitary pads donation programme, ngwana wa mo Afrika a rutege programme and drugs and substance awareness programme.
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