After quite a few residents and businesses in Walmer were affected by burglaries and robberies, some of the residents recently decided to come together and establish a neighbourhood watch in the area.
One of the members of the Walmer Neighbourhood Watch, Joshua Bussy, said that after these incidents and just general criminality had taken place, they decided to step up and take action.
“I, along with some other key community members, said that enough was enough and we understood that there was a great need for a neighbourhood watch structure in the area so we decided to find out what it took to start one,” Bussy said.
“The Walmer Neighbourhood Watch official structure is still busy being formally established. We are yet to have our election meeting where a chairperson, vice-chairperson and various other committee members will be elected, but this process should be completed shortly.
“We have, however, been operational with patrols and setting up the inner workings of the neighbourhood watch, with the oversight and blessings of the Walmer CPF and SAPS sector manager at the Walmer Police Station.
“In addition, we have a ‘Crime Report’ Whats-App group that is 150 participants strong.
“We currently have about 12 active patrollers,” Bussy explained.
The Walmer Neighbourhood Watch covers from Community Road all the way to Golf Road and from 1st Avenue to 14th Avenue. There is another neighbourhood watch in Greenshields Park that looks after its immediate area.
According to Bussy, a patroller is essentially on patrol every time they exit their premises and drive in the Walmer area.
“We do scheduled patrols and they are generally at night and in the early hours of the morning. As our capacity grows, we are striving to establish a quick reaction team, who can respond to incidents reported on the WhatsApp group on short notice any time during the day or night,” he said.
He added that the neighbourhood watch benefited the community in many ways as they worked with the police and security companies to keep the community protected and safe.
“The neighbourhood watch also brings the community together through communication platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook.
“We realise that while we can’t completely eradicate crime, we can drastically reduce it. It has been wonderful to see how the community has helped the patrollers so far, whether it be printing flyers, maps or just giving of their time to patrol.
“Forming a strong connection with your community is of absolute importance when building a successful neighbourhood watch.
“It also provides a structure in conjunction with the CPF, where the community and police in our area can form closer ties with residents and business owners,” Bussy said.
To get into contact with the Walmer Neighbourhood Watch, you can either contact Bussy on 083 415 9625, Marianna on 081 250 5088 or get in touch with Murphy on 083 453 5947.
