A meeting between the Vredenburg Business Forum and the local police took place on Wednesday 17 January to discuss safety issues and a way forward, as the West Coast town has been hit hard by crime.
Those attending raised a variety of concerns.
Some of these included communication between the public and the police as well as between neighbourhood watches (NHW) and the police, availability of police members and vehicles.
According to Theressa Rossouw, a business owner and PR councillor, when it comes to the issue of police personnel and vehicles the solution is complex, yet simple.
“There are long-standing concerns, but there is commitment to finding a workable solution, and the meeting was productive,” she said. “It was not just a discussion. It was a planning session as well; in essence we all found some solutions to our issues raised and made a joint commitment to prevent crime by working together.” Zue Mitchley from JBR Auto and Cables and More who also attended the meeting said she feels positive about what was discussed.
“I think awareness has been reached and that more changes will be happening in the short future. Two days after the meeting already there were new officers in the station deployed to assist and there are really more visibility of police vans in the whole of Vredenburg.
I believe our expectations will be met in short means of time.”
To get the public involved and to educate them it was agreed an awareness campaign would be run by the police, NHW and security companies. Rossouw encouraged people to report crime at all times and join the NHWs. “Together we can succeed. Often the largest problem has the simplest solution.”
