Volunteers and would-be crime fighters of Khayamandi gathered to give the local satellite police station a makeover on Saturday 15 November.
The initiative was organised by Community Wolfe, a WhatsApp-based platform where residents can anonymously report crime. According to Dr Greta Groeneveld, director of research at Community Wolf, it was a successful day of registering residents on the platform.
Groeneveld said it was surprising but gratifying to see that many of the locals who registered for the app were men.
Pedro George, vice-chairperson of the Stellenbosch Community Policing Forum (CPF), said contact crimes, which include assault and murder, were especially a problem in the township.
In a bid to reduce crime, a sub-forum of the CPF was established in Khayamandi.
“Building trust among the community, the CPF, the police service and the judicial system is of the utmost importance. Residents must take responsibility for alerting law enforcement of wrongdoing and report crime. We will continue to be relentless in our fight against crime, but we need buy-in from the private sector,” George said.
Joining forces with the private sector is precisely what Groeneveld has been doing. Community Wolf is working with security company Prosec Guard, SightEye, who erected CCTV cameras, and fibretime.
“SightEye has created cameras and put up cameras at many locals schools,” she pointed out. “The cameras and the app enables the Prosec Guard guards to react to incidents in Khayamandi and provide assistance to the police officers.”
Young men who registered with Community Wolf on Saturday said they are tired of the crime in their community, with some having fallen victim to crime. They said they plan to make good use of the app.
“Robberies are a big problem,” one of the men complained. “My phone was also stolen and housebreakings are also a big problem. Then there are also the shootings plaguing the community.”
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