A GOOD relationship and communication skills in community safety are the framework of success, and key role-players are needed to create these partnerships. These are the views of the Brighton Beach CPF chairperson and executive committee member, Jane Davies.
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The forum has recently been hailed for its swift action in arresting a wanted house-burglary suspect on The Bluff. The man was being sought by the police for his alleged involvement in various house-burglary cases that happened early this month.
Since the inception of the forum, it has been making great strides and played a proactive role in the fight against crime. Davies cited vagrancy as a contributing factor to house burglaries and house robberies that have been happening on The Bluff.
“Vagrancy is not a crime in itself but is a contravention of municipal by-laws that are enforced by metro police. Communities are encouraged to report by-law complaints directly to Metro, as without reference numbers, we cannot ascertain or address the severity of the situation. Petty theft is a huge financial strain in communities, especially water meters and copper-pipe theft.
“Some housebreakings are also motivated by drug use and financial gain. For these types of cases, task teams are set up to analyse trends and threats,” she explained.
The forum has been in existence for over twenty years, however, in 2020, it became dormant as a committee due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Fortunately, this did not deter the spirit of the members. The forum continued to assist in less formal roles despite the challenges. At present, the forum has over 60 active members, with many more as part of street and neighbourhood committees and watch groups.
“We endeavour to bring more residents on board with the escalating levels of crime. We have four CPF community groups for reporting crime threats and requests for immediate assistance, though many more groups are also monitored,” said Davies.
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She said the analysis of crime threats and incidents reported by the community enables forum members to engage with stakeholders in surveillance and target-driven operations.
“The support from the SAPS, metro police, security companies, infrastructure task teams, community members and other law enforcement agencies has led to the apprehension of suspects in numerous house break-ins, house robberies, infrastructure theft, vehicle theft and armed robberies,” she said.
The forum also provides automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and the monitoring of the greater Bluff suburb, which is used in collaboration with the ANPR technology of two of the major shopping centres.
In March 2022, the Brighton Beach CPF main forum was established, followed by the resuscitation of The Bluff Sub Forum in May 2022, with new members appointed to the community police forum committee. The main function of The Bluff CPF is to be the eyes and ears of the community and provide necessary information to the street groups.
“We also assist detectives in obtaining supporting evidence (CCTV footage and witnesses). We assist visible policing with roadblocks and other operations where support is requested. We assist the social crimes and media liaison officials in raising crime awareness, either through social media or pamphlet distributions. We provide ongoing assistance to the community with respect to when and how to open criminal cases and any complaints against police,” she said.
According to Davies, their collaboration with all relevant stakeholders and security companies has led to many of the successes and arrests.
“This is the only true way to prevent future crimes. It is only through this transparent partnership that we are able to combat crime as we need many partners on board to make the CPF effective. We are only the eyes and ears of the community and a conduit between the community and SAPS,” she said.
In response to the cable theft cases, Davies said the members of the forum have set up a special task team to tackle issues related to the theft and damage of infrastructure. However, Davies said their efforts in trying to curb the theft of cables seem to be a losing battle as there is a demand for copper at the scrapyards.
“The police are conducting regular inspections at the scrapyards and imposing the necessary prosecutions,” said Davies.
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She appealed to the residents to report criminal activities to the police. “Reporting a case when a crime occurs is vital for arrests and connecting criminals to other incidents in our area and neighbouring suburbs. The input from the community helps us share information with the police, CPF and security companies – enabling a swift response to apprehend these criminals and keep our suburb safe.
“It is vital for residents to report crimes and open cases should they be a victim of crime. Residents in the area are often reluctant to do so and tend to prefer to go to social media to make their views known and don’t always report incidents accurately.
“We appeal to the residents to alert the authorities first as that is the best way to get support and resolution. Brighton Beach Victim Friendly Centre is a victim-friendly service where the dignity and rights of the victim are protected, and the victim is empowered and not subjected to secondary victimisation by the inefficiency of the members of the criminal justice system,” said Davies.
The victim-support unit is a team of volunteers that go through extensive training in order to provide:
• trauma debriefing
• emotional support
• practical support
• provide information on what comes next
• referral to professional support services where necessary
• GBV and femicide support
• assistance with bullying
• assistance with missing persons
The forum operates within the victim-friendly room at Brighton Beach SAPS, which is a dedicated room to provide a space to make statements in private in a non-threatening environment.
“We have teams on standby to assist when needed, but we are always on the lookout for people who wish to volunteer and be committed to their community,” she added.
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