Former Brackenfell Community Police Forum chairman Sean McCleland has been re-elected as the Tygerberg CPF cluster chair during an election last month at the cluster’s boardroom in Bellville.
Goodwood CPF chairman John Ross was elected as the new treasurer, while Bothasig CPF chairman Dave Morley is vice-chairman.
Mr McCleland took over the reins from Lesley Ashton in 2017 after she resigned. He will now serve a second five-year term.
“It is a privilege to serve the communities of the Tygerberg cluster in our pursuit of safer communities,” Mr McCleland said.
The CPF cluster’s constitutional objective was to establish an environment where CPFs could interact and solve issues of crime within the partnership between communities and SAPS, he said.
Bellville, Bothasig, Brackenfell, Durbanville, Goodwood, Kraaifontein and Parow make up the cluster.
“We have worked hard to unify the CPF structures within the cluster over the last few years,” Mr McCleland said.
“Covid was a huge challenge when it came to communication between the partnership, but all things considered, we have seen some significant results in the reduction of violent crimes in certain areas, along with reductions in various property crimes in other areas. So our the CPFs, along with the executive of the Tygerberg cluster, look forward to improving further on this.”
Mr McCleland said the Department of Community Safety had stripped R5 000 in annual funding from each CPF in the province while funding neighbourhood watches in this financial year to the tune of R6 million.
He said the City and provincial government appeared to be pitting the neighbourhood watches against the CPFs. He said the City preferred working with neighbourhood watches, a position that the province appeared to also be adopting.
The Department of Community Safety has denied pulling funding from the CPFs.
“All CPFs were invited to apply for project funding amounting to R5 000 per month by submitting a business plan,” said Community Safety spokesman Isaac Davids.
He said 109 out of 151 CPFs across the province had applied to receive the funding and all CPFs and cluster structures would again be invited to apply for funding in the new financial year. He said 90 had been approved.
Mayoral member for safety and security JP Smith said: “The City’s policing departments liaise on a regular basis with CPFs, and these bodies are acknowledged and well respected by the City. In terms of funding, the City of Cape Town has no role in the funding of CPFs and therefore cannot weigh in on comments around the defunding of such structures.”