“We will no longer be held hostage by crime,” said Muizenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF) deputy chair Ashwin Abrahams.
On Saturday 26 August, law-enforcement agencies from the Muizenberg and Steenberg policing precincts came together for a joint safety operation.
Neighbourhood watches, Community in Blue, Metro Police, Traffic Services, law enforcement and the police gathered outside the Muizenberg Civic Centre, from where they started their patrol on Saturday night.
Abrahams said the main aim of the patrol was to be visible and reduce crime.
“It was our first big joint patrol, which consisted of more than 40 vehicles in convoy,” he said. “We are serious about minimising crime in our areas and making it safer for our kids.”
The areas covered included hotspots in Vrygrond, Seawinds, Costa Da Gama, Lavender Hill, Steenberg, Hillview and Coniston Park.
According to CPF chair Derrick Muller, they noted a shift in crime. “Crime has shifted to areas where there are no neighbourhood watches,” he said.
“In Muizenberg, for example, there are no neighbourhood watches, so the crime has moved to Muizenberg village and the marina. My job is to establish a new neighbourhood watch in those areas.
“Our precinct also goes all the way to Kalk Bay, so we need to set up a neighbourhood watch because visibility deters crime and we need more people to get involved.”
Muller added the joint operation was a huge success.
“We want to show criminals our force of power when we walk together so that they can see what they are up against.
“On Saturday night we covered volatile areas because we are trying to take back our streets.”
Berenice Naidoo, a member of Community in Blue and chair of the Seawinds Neighbourhood Watch, said patrollers also managed to assist a resident in distress.
“Our patrollers from Seawinds stayed in our area,” she said, “and we patrolled from 20:00 where we made our way to Lavender Hill and other areas.
“We pulled off Military Road in two police vehicles when we saw a vehicle driving suspiciously.
“The car suddenly stopped and the driver and passenger doors flung open. A woman jumped out and shouted that the driver was having an asthma attack.”
Luckily, a patroller who was also asthmatic could come along and assist with an asthma pump.
“It was being at the right place at the right time. This man was totally out of it.”
Meanwhile, petty crimes such as the theft of bins are crimes daily in Seawinds and the Lavender Hill areas, said Naidoo.
“The stealing of bins is something that happens quite often as well as the theft of car batteries.
“Hijackings, in general, are an issue everywhere, not only in Seawinds and Lavender Hill. In our areas, there are house break-ins, vehicle break-ins and illegal dumping, which we see the most and one of the ugliest things is illegal dumping because people don’t care. So this patrol was really appreciated by residents.”
