Six neighbourhood watch groups within Ward 60 received equipment worth R50 000 from councillor Mark Kleinschmidt, as part of the ward allocation budget.
The neighbourhood watch groups received bicycles, torches and reflective jackets.
Mr Kleinschmidt said he identified that crime and traffic calming required much attention in his ward, which includes Athlone (west of the railway line, south of Klipfontein Road, east of Kromboom Parkway and north of Mosman Road), Crawford (west of Jan Smuts Road, south of Kromboom Parkway, east of the railway line and north of Kendal Road), Lansdowne, Mowbray (Mowbray Golf Club), Rondebosch East and Sybrand Park.
Said Mr Kleinschmidt: “SAPS are unable to tackle crime on their own, and I realised that our neighbourhood watches were playing a significant role as partners in being the eyes and ears in alerting residents and the relevant law enforcement agencies in Ward 60.”
The six neighbourhood watch groups who benefited from the donation, are Sybrand Park, Garlandale, Lansdowne and Rondebosch East (Lanroe), Lansdowne Corridor (LansCor), Kenwyn and the Yorkshire/Groenvlei group, who, according to Mr Kleinschmidt, operates effectively in the ward.
He added: “It was for this reason that I called on Charl Viljoen, who is a safety and security trainer, to present the Broken Glass Training session, which was held on Thursday March 9, at the Lansdowne civic centre. It was attended by 78 neighbourhood watch members, including the Lansdowne community police forum (CPF). The response from the neighbourhood watch groups was excellent, and additional members from outside of Ward 60 also requested permission to attend. Mr Viljoen must be commended for his enlightening presentation and we express our sincere gratitude to him.”
The hand-over ceremony was held at the Athlone stadium on Monday May 15.
Mr Kleinschmidt also sang the praises of the various neighbourhood watch members.
“The presentation of safety and security equipment to the neighbourhood watch groups is an indication of my commitment to the selfless ordinary men and women who give of their time and efforts selflessly to assist in crime prevention in our community. Their cross-borders initiative is a further strategy to widen their catchment area in assisting law enforcement agencies to apprehend criminals and reduce crime in the City of Cape Town.
“I trust that the safety equipment that is received may assist in their crime prevention tasks, and thank each member for their dedication and commitment,” Mr Kleinschmidt proudly said.
