GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — The Graaff-Reinet Neighbourhood Watch group was started about five ago and (as at Tuesday this week) has 1166 members with a current growth rate of about 9% per week.
This is an apolitical group, with the main communication platform being a closed facebook group. Nobody is paid to do this, and it is open for all Graaff Reinet residents to join.
Founder Rose Wright explains that “volunteers do it out of the goodness of their hearts and for the greater good in our entire town and community”.
The description of the group on the page states: “This page is for local Graaff-Reinet residents to support each other. If there are incidents happening we can caution each other, support our local Police force and encourage a safe town to live in for all. Crime is unwelcome in Graaff-Reinet; we like to keep it that way.”
Presently there seems to be a worrying trend in crime reports from members of the group.
Many comments are being posted by members of the public about criminals posing as car guards and harming cars, stealing from people and removing goods off the back of bakkies, threatening people with knives and in particular threatening women.
Street children are also being mentioned more and more, and it is said that they are noisy, disrespectful, rude and learning to be future loiterers and troublemakers.
Allegedly there is a municipal by-law that does not allow the police to deal with these people as it is the responsibility of the Municipal Manager to control loitering and noise pollution. It is up to the MM to call on the police for assistance, and residents have to keep reporting every little incident to try to get the desired reactions from these authorities.
Members of the Graaff Reinet community are encouraged to join this group and highlight the good and the bad. The administrator of the Facebook page has to approve members - this is done to filter out any bad elements such as those posting pornography, blatant advertising and those who wish to use the group as a platform to voice political and religious opinions. Administrators send regular screenshots of complaints to the Graaff-Reinet SAPS and the Municipal Manager, although according to Wright there is very rarely any response.
“So far the negative reporting unfortunately far outweighs the positive, and our aim is to swing this around and get Graaff-Reinet back to being a safe and pretty little town where people are free to wander around without looking over their shoulders and to utilise the town square or Angel Park as a clean and quiet, resting place for all” said Wright.
“If all the citizens work together and even only half of the community does something each day towards this goal we can achieve it” she continued. “We can help the police and the municipality reinstate our safety and security. Together, we firmly believe that it can be done”.
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