The Monte Vista Plattekloof Glen Neighbourhood Watch recently received its certificate of accreditation, something the organisations says they are extremely proud of.
The certificate was handed over to the chair, Casper Rossouw, by Gary Cornberg from the Western Cape Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety.
“Achieving the accreditation is a very proud moment for the neighbourhood watch.
“There are a lot of boxes that need to be ticked to be accredited.
“Each neighbourhood watch member plays a fundamental part to achieve this status.
“Being accredited means that we receive financial support and training from the Department of Police Oversight and Community Safety, it also assists in improving relations between the neighbourhood watch and the various crime prevention and policing bodies like the police, the community policing forum (CPF) and law enforcement. It also means a lot to our members as it shows that the neighbourhood watch has a certain degree of professionalism and a standard it adheres to, and like mentioned, a lot of support that comes with the accreditation,” says Rossouw.
Residents invited to join
The Monte Vista and Plattekloof Glen community can be proud of their local neighbourhood watch members, Rossouw adds. He says the main purpose of a neighbourhood watch member is to assist the CPF, police, safety and security services and partners to safeguard the local community and their property, to manage and control crime prevention initiatives and to discourage crime in the area.
“In short being the ‘eyes and ears’ of the community. Our principles are to treat everybody with respect and courtesy and act with fairness and impartiality. We have a constitution and code of conduct which members must adhere to,” says Rossouw.
Should residents want to be part of the organisation they need to contact their local neighbourhood watch committee, and all the information can also be found on the local websites.
“I would encourage everyone in their community to join the neighbourhood watch. There are no mandatory patrols, we understand that we all have responsibilities, and we appreciate any time members offer,” he says.
Several hours, and distances covered
There are currently around 25 to 30 active patrollers, and between 21 August to 27 August the neighbourhood watch patrolled 294,2 km, logged close to 65 hours and conducted 56 patrols.
“I must also mention that we continue to improve our relationship with the community, and we are very fortunate to have two big security firms active in our area that are passionate about community safety. We also receive a lot of support from Ward 1 councillor, Cheryl Visser, who is very active within the community and whom we rely on a lot,” says Rossouw.
Residents who want to join can email mvpgnhw@gmail.com.
