Goodwood residents recently marked the accreditation of four neighbourhood watches at a celebration held on Saturday 29 August at the local JG Meiring High School, bringing community members, local businesses and high-ranking police and Western Cape Government officials together to honour the integrated approach to combating crime.

They included Goodwood police station commander Col Shawn van Wyk, Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith, ward councillors Cheryl Visser (Ward 1) and Cecile Janse van Rensburg (Ward 27), private security company District Watch founder Pierre Gouws, as well as representatives from the provincial department of police oversight and community safety, all of whom have shown their solidarity with local police and CPF structures.

The four neighbourhood watches are Goodwood Estate NHW, Townsend Estate NHW, Vasco NHW and Richmond NHW. The accreditation was a major milestone for community-led policing, according to the local community-policing forum (CPF), which spearheaded the celebration. It marked a significant expansion of localised security networks working alongside law enforcement to foster a safer, more united Goodwood.

The celebration also marked the official re-accreditation of the Glenwood Neighbourhood Watch and honoured the neighbouring Monte Vista Plattekloof Glen Neighbourhood Watch for its consistent performance in the field.

“A major achievement like this requires a village,” Goodwood CPF stated. “We extend our deepest gratitude to the dedicated management teams and voluntary patrollers who sacrifice their time to keep our streets safe. Together, our communities are growing stronger, safer, and more united every single day.”

It said the success of this celebration would not have been possible without the incredibly generous contributions and investments of local sponsors and service providers who pour resources back, particularly into community safety.

According to the forum, with newly accredited boots on the ground and renewed momentum, police and local neighbourhood watches were looking forward to keeping it up, especially if it meant driving a safer environment for all residents.

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