Kraaifontein Sector 4B Neighbourhood Watch walked away with first prize in the Hero to Hero category at the Neighbourhood Watch Awards on Monday March 26.
Hosted by the City of Cape Town and the provincial Department of Community Safety, the 34 awards recognised distinction (bronze awards), individual excellence (silver awards), and outstanding achievement (gold awards).
Chairman of the Sector 4B watch, André Theron said they’re proud of the achievement and it meant a lot to the patrollers.
He commended the watch members for their dedication, and also had words of praise for residents.
“We could not do this without the support of the residents. I want to thank the residents and the security companies for their support,” he said.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security, and social services, JP Smith, also thanked the patrollers.
“With as much as 20 000 trained NHW members in the City and probably closer to 50 000 NHW volunteers in some form or another active in our communities, you are at the forefront to improve safety in our communities and often teach both the City and police valuable lessons in community intelligence led policing,” he said.
Community Safety MEC Dan Plato said neighbourhood watches are at the forefront of crime-fighting. “We are looking to accredit another 100 NHW structures in the year to come and are setting aside more than R2.5 million for training and equipping our NHW structures,” he said.
The City of Cape Town said there are more than 130 accredited NHWs in the metropole and more than 200 accredited NHWs across the province.
