Who is Crime Busters

Are you a new reader of Crime Busters RSA Neighbourhood Area Assistance? 

Even if you're not new to us, a warm welcome to you! We hope this Blog-spot will be of amazing use to you!

This Blog-spot is a very practical day to day manual on how to live life in Gauteng...Especially North of the Magaliesburg Mountain in Pretoria. 

You will probably go through this with ease, knowing every single part of what is going on... but pay attention, this may save your life and hold valuable ways to ensure the safety of those around you too.

Feel free to share our Blog-spot with your friends and family by copying and pasting this link to them : https://crimebustersrsa.blogspot.com/

Where are we based? PRETORIA NORTH, GP, RSA

How can we become ACTIVE members? Whatsapp your name and address to 063 215 9554 to know more!

Crime Busters RSA was started in 2013 by Mrs C and Mr G VD Berg by using social media (whatsapp) as its main form of communication within the area North of the Magalies Mountain in Pretoria North and has grown far beyond the mind can imagine... we are here to show you what we have been busy with throughout all the past years whilst we were mingling with neighbors, joined various 'neighborhood watch programs', assisted with incidents and got active with assisting Local Law Enforcement Agencies to clamp down and broadcast emergency Criminal Activities and here we are today... we obviously cant elaborate on stories because we respect everyones confidentiality so instead of leaving everyone in the dark, we are here to train and empower serious like-minded individuals who WANT to make a difference that will have an impact on our future generations well-being and safety.

Crime Busters RSA's goal is to make every community in our area a safe place to live, work and learn.

The theme for Crime Busters RSA is to “increase wellness, safety & reduce social ills”

Our objective as Crime Busters RSA Neighbourhood Area Assistance: 

1.  Promoting professional "policing" through effective oversight

2. Ensuring the safety of all public buildings & spaces

3. Facilitating safety partnerships and programmes

4. Building greater safety & security organisational resilience

How can WE achieve this objective?

We should all think about the contribution we make to improving safety in local communities being parents, citizens, individuals & organizations, to lay the foundation for effective partnerships.

A "neighbourhood watch system" such as us at Crime Busters RSA Neighbourhood Area Assistance are mechanisms for mobilising local knowledge to improve safety in local communities.

Here are some basic principals which will be helpful in guiding our attention to the things we can change, and how we need to think in order to do so. These things are:

Focus on the future, not on the past

DONT ask “who is to blame” - rather ask “what made it possible for this to happen” and “what can be done to make this less likely to happen again”

With this example, ask yourself "what can i do to make sure this doesnt happen again, because the effects of one small act will grow out of control" - Youth are being seen on the street when they are supposed to be in school. This can snowball into a very bad outcome. Damaging the lives of many youth who rebel. 

Focus on opportunities

This means reducing opportunities for harmful acts makes these acts less likely to occur.

Look for opportunities that encourage positive actions and attitudes.

Think “issue based collaboration” (whole of society)

The best solution to a problem is found by bringing people or agencies who know and understand the circumstances surrounding the problem together.

Depending on the problem we face, will depend on who we need and how we need them.

To create and manage safe and liveable spaces, we need a flexible and comprehensive toolbox. Problem solving & prevention, not just reaction & punishment.

Work with your family in answering these questions:

Use the thinking guideline to discuss & comment on ways we as a community can tackle this challenge. 

The guidelines are:

Focus on the future, not on the past.

Focus on opportunities.

Whole of society.

Different problems & opportunities require different solutions.

Being a "neighbourhood watch" member or part of a neighbourhood watch group does not give a person any special rights and privileges. Instead being a member means that you have the added responsibility of being a good role model. This means you must be a responsible and law abiding citizen.

An active citizen can take part in delivering services which are needed in practical ways, such as voicing opinions and participating in the fight against crime.

You can prevent crime by ensuring your own safety like not walking alone at night in areas that are not well lit.

You can also help prevent crime by being observant and reporting any suspicious activity / persons to SAPS.

If all citizens of the community stand together, crime will drop and we will have a healthier & happier community with fewer criminal incidents.

All of our rights and responsibilities can be found in the Constitution of South Africa.

It applies to all citizens and residents equally. It also covers visitors to our country.

It is important to read and understand the Constitution of South Africa and the Human Rights it supports.

Below are some extracts and summaries from the Constitution. Read each section carefully and give us your thoughts on each below section.

From Chapter 2 of the Constitution – Human Rights

Section 10 – Human Dignity

Everyone has the right to freedom & security of the person, which includes the right:

1. Not to be deprived of freedom arbitrarily or without just cause.

2. Not to be detained without trial.

3. To be free from all forms of violence from public or private sources.

4. Not to be tortured in any way; and 

5. Not to be treated or punished in a cruel, inhumane or degrading way.

Think of practical ways that you could improve your community that would help everybody feel that they are free and secure in their daily lives?

Everyone has the right to privacy, which includes the right to not have:

1. their person or home searched

2. their property searched

3. their possessions seized

4. or the privacy of their communications infringed

No one may be deprived of property except in terms of law of general application, and no law may permit arbitrary deprivation of property.

(3) Every accused person has the right to a fair trial, which includes the right (h) to be presumed innocent. (5) Evidence obtained in a manner that violates any right in the Bill of Rights must be excluded if the admission of that evidence would render the trial unfair or otherwise be detrimental to the administration of justice.

All of these extracts from the Constitution are about protecting the rights and dignity of individuals.

Sometimes, it is necessary to limit the rights of certain individuals for the protection of society. This means that people like criminals would often go to prison where they are deprived of their freedom in very basic ways.

Here is what the Constitution says about the limitation of peoples rights:

Section 36 – Limitation of Rights

(1) The rights in the bill of rights may be limited only in terms of law of general application to the extent that the limitation is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human rights, equality and freedom, considering all relevant factors.

In other words, we must have a very good reason for doing anything that injures a persons freedom or dignity, or else we will be behaving unlawfully.

Why is it important for neighbourhood watch members to know this?

Neighbourhood watch patrols support law enforcement bodies such as the SAPS or Metro Police.

SAPS & Metro Police officers are “Peace Officers”. There are also other types of people who are considered “Peace Officers” eg. Magistrates, some correctional officials and other persons who have been explicitly and lawfully designated as PEACE officers. (Appointed under the law)

A peace officer has the right to:

1. Seize articles or goods

2. Search premises

3. Search persons

4. Enter premises to obtain evidence

5. Arrest

Neighbourhood watch members are considered private persons and are not appointed as peace officers. However under specific circumstances, they are allowed to arrest people without a warrant.

The law says:

Whom commits / attempts to commit in his / her presence, or whom he / she reasonably suspects of having committed an offence referred to in Schedule 1 (Serious offences)

Whom he / she reasonably believes to have committed any offence and to be escaping from and to be freshly pursued by a person whom such private person believes to have authority to arrest that person for that offence (you may help to catch and arrest any person who is escaping from police or other law enforcement officers)

When he / she is by law authorised to arrest without warrant in respect of any offence specified in that law (only if you as a private person have officially been given the right to arrest without a warrant) Criminal procedure act Section 42 (1), Also,

 The owner / lawful occupier or person in charge of property on or in respect of which person is found committing an offence, and any person authorized thereto by such owner, occupier or person in charge

CAUTION: Even if you do qualify in any of the above ways to arrest as a private person, this power must be exercised with very great caution.

Use of force in effecting arrest: The same limitations apply to the use of force in effecting an arrest. Some degree of force may be at times used while making an arrest, but only if there are no other reasonable means available, and even in that case, the degree of force must be kept to a minimum.

1. How to look at familiar things and places and see them in a new way – we get used to our neighbourhoods and we start taking the way they look for granted. But our neighbourhoods are full of signs – what do they say?

2. How to identify opportunities for bad things to happen before they happen – eg. Street lights are off or broken, making it dangerous to walk at night or missing street names making it easy for visitors to get lost.

3. How to identify opportunities for good thins to happen and help them happen – A vacant stand is starting to become a dumping point and attraction for drug dealers – what can be done to tidy up and prevent the drug dealers from coming back?

4. How to develop an integrated safety plan for your neighbourhood – when you are able to read signs and identify opportunities for good or bad, you start thinking about ways to make your future better.

5. How to identify all the potential resources in your community – Ask yourself questions like: who are the people that know something useful about your neighbourhood? What special kinds of knowledge can a neighbourhood watch group use to make the neighbourhood a safe and liveable place? How many people in your community are sitting at home without a job, feeling frustrated when their skills could be used for building the community?

6. How to enrol other people and organizations in the process of finding solutions and creating safety – Every individual has a point of view, and every organization has its own role to play. Sometimes you will be able to make plans and solve problems without consulting anyone else, but that is unusual. Remember, you are not in competition with other people. We are all fighting crime together. Different people have different strengths, resources and expertise. It is important to respect what others can offer to build a safe and liveable neighbourhood.

7. How to listen with full and respectful attention – Disagreements between people are normal and natural, but they can quickly turn into conflict situations. If conflicts aren’t resolved quickly, they can cause violent harm to people and property. There are simple ways of helping people in conflict to find peaceful solutions before they get to the point of violence.

8. How to keep a reliable and useful record of your decisions and your activities – You will be responding to  variety of issues. Some may be more challenging to deal with than others. It is important to keep clear daily records that are updated regularly. This allows you to track the progress of every intervention (who, what, where, when and how) and to build up a database of stories and examples that you can refer to when new members join the neighbourhood watch.

9. How to communicate effectively with your community and with other organizations and agencies – Keeping clear and reliable records allows you to report back to your community regularly in a credible and useful way. Your neighbours will appreciate hearing from you and it will be more likely to help you. There are also other organizations who would find your reports useful.

10. What your rights, your powers and your limitations are as a citizen – The Constitution of South Africa (Ch 2 Sec 5) says that civilians may not search premises, seize property or arrest persons unless such action is reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom – The most important rights you have as a neighbourhood watch member are freedom of speech & freedom of movement. Being an active member of a neighbourhood watch allows you to use those freedoms to improve the quality of life in your community.

If you have any ideas on DIY home security, or tips on how to prevent home burglaries / safety tips please send your suggestions to crimebustersrsa@gmail.com and we’ll publish and credit the author. 

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Crimebustersrsa@gmail.com