Anti-crime groups come together to fight draft curbs
Committee to speak with one voice against bid to clip wings of Neighbourhood Watches
NEIGHBOURHOOD Watch groups in Nelson Mandela Bay decided at a meeting last night to appoint one body to fight the draft guidelines which have been put forward to regulate the community anticrime groups.
Following an outcry from thousands of residents about the proposals, the meeting in Londt Park attracted the attention of Transport, Safety and Liaison MEC Weziwe Tikana’s office, which has agreed to meet Farm Comm chairman Willie Bosch on Monday on his farm in Maitlands.
This meeting will address the draft guidelines which could see the police have greater control over Neighbourhood Watches – including access to their bank accounts.
Bosch said this would not be a viable approach as many residents would stop donating.
“That will not happen. We cannot give access to our bank accounts to anyone because that would mean that our residents will no longer donate to a body that works for them.
“They donate their money or goods because they can see where it is going and how it is being used.
“At a recent fundraising event we had residents in our community donate game, fridges and stoves to be auctioned off and we made a substantial amount of money that went towards more security equipment,” he said.
While police have cited concerns over uniformity – and even alleged racial profiling – the community anti-crime units are infuriated that po- lice are meddling in their affairs.
Thousands of residents in the province belong to Neighbourhood Watches, street committees and similar structures.
The guidelines have not yet been finalised despite being drafted by the Department of Safety and Liaison in 2016.
Bosch suggested the Neighbourhood Watches appoint a steering committee and form one body.
The 120 residents at the meeting agreed to the motion.
Dirk Burger, of Bluewater Bay I-Patrol, said community members needed to band together to keep their areas safe.
“We are all interrelated as a community and we need to protect one another, keep our noses clean and work with the police.
“It is sad to hear that there is a bit of a rift between the community and the police. This should not be the case.
“We want to bring the two together, but we also need to mobilise ourselves to create this body and speak as one,” he said.
Algoa Park Neighbourhood Watch chairman Hardwick van Zyl said their members were being bullied by the Community Police Forum (CPF) unit in the area.
“We have no trouble working with the police in the area because they are great, but our problem is with the CPF, who want to dictate to us how to do our jobs,” he said.
Bosch said they needed to look at legal routes and prepare themselves should this matter be taken to court.
“We are not backtracking on our decision, we are going forward with this because we cannot allow other people to be meddling in our operation.”