Neighbourhood Watches

The SAPS Act 68 of 1995, legislated Community Police Forums (CPF) as the only recognised consultative forum designed to permit communities to make their policing concerns known to the police.

In order for a CPF to function, it must be registered and recognized by the station commander and have an executive committee in place.

All CPF members from the EXCO to regular members are required to undergo criminal record checks and be fingerprinted and vetted before registering up. There is a code of conduct in place to ensure accountability and responsibility.

CPF members who want to be more active and engage in operations with SAPS, Metro, as well as actively patrol can join the Community In Blue, and are then required to do a short training course which outlines the roles, responsibilities and legal aspects such as a Citizen’s Arrest and Crime Scene Management.

As there is no legislation or mandate governing Neighbourhood Watches, they often have no requirements, vetting process, criminal record checks, training program, etc, and can be loosely established by anyone, and have no accountability to any structures. This can and has in the past led to these groups become vigilante and operating outside the legal framework.

As in it’s name, Neighbhourhood Watches are about being the EYES and EARS on the ground in your neighbourhood. This means the area that is roughly 500m your home, where something that happens within that radius could have a direct effect on you.

Also, when it comes to patrolling, it should be an area you are also comfortable with, and these days, with the cost of fuel, we have found people don’t want to venture to the other end of the suburb.

It could also mean sitting on your balcony or even keeping watch from your gate if you have a good view of the road. You don’t necessary need to leave your property. Imagine if every house in your whole road gave one hour a night just to standing at the gate, watching and reporting. Not even leaving your house.

From here, the eyes and ears feed back to larger CPF and/or response teams such as SAPS or Private Security or into WhatsApp groups that are monitored by volunteers to coordinate support and response.

Neighbourhood Watches are not response teams and should never be engaging criminals, or actively chasing down and pursuing suspects and attempting to detain them.

Yes, we welcome and encourage Neighbourhood and Street Watches to register with the CPF, provided that they meet certain requirements and adhere to the codes of conduct, and other requirements.

It it the Neighbourhood Watches that run on the street that provide key information back up to the CPF, who in turn shares it with SAPS to make informed decisions on patrols and stake out points.

They are the critical EYES and EARS.

As the CPF is a legislated body, and as the only recognised consultative forum designed to permit communities to make their policing concerns known to the police, having your Neighbhourhood Watch registered and recognized by the CPF is an important part of legitimizing your Neighbourhood Watch.

There is no legislation or mandate governing Neighbourhood Watches, they often have no requirements, vetting process, criminal record checks, training program, etc, and can be loosely established by anyone, and have no accountability to any structures. This can and has in the past led to these groups become vigilante and operating outside the legal framework, leading to criminal activity by the members themselves, as well as mob justice.

Also, lack of knowledge of the law, how to effect Citizen’s Arrests and Crime Scene Management, often leads to well-meaning members tampering with crime scenes, or disrupting the chain of custody of suspects or evidence, which in turn leads to the criminals having to be let go as the SAPS has no legal standing to hold them, or the vital evidence is damaged or considered tainted and would get thrown of court.

Registering your Neighbourhood Watch gives you access to the CPF and it’s training and support structure, as well as other benefits.

Once a Neighbourhood Watch has been registered and it’s member list supplied to the CPF, basic training to cover the key aspects such as crime scene management, accident scene management, etc will be given so that the members are aware of what needs to be done should the need arise.

Registered Neighbourhood Watches and their members will also from time to time, be asked to join in SAPS and Metro Operations, Community In Blue and CPF Car Snake Patrols and foot patrols, etc.

The head of each registered Neighbourhood Watch will also be invited to attend their local Sector Meetings to give feedback on their areas and activities, as well as get feedback from the CPF and SAPS about larger operational plans.

Several members of the CPF are ex-SAPS, or have many, many years experience in Law Enforcement or the security industry, and are always more than happy to offer advise, or assistance where possible, so your members will have access to a wealth of information and expertise.

The Neighbourhood Watch will also be permitted to add the CPF logo to signage, branded clothing, etc, or make inferences to the fact that they are recognized and registered by the CPF.

In order for the Neighbourhood/Street Watch join the CPF, the following needs to be done.

• Work in your immediate area. Smaller is simpler, and more manageable. Stick to your within 500m or so of your area. Use the sector maps here to find your sectors.
• Elect/form a committee from your designated area.
• Complete your constitution (the template can be obtained from your Sector Head) or complete the form here, along with your signup forms and internal codes of conduct. All your members will need to complete the Codes of Conduct and Application Forms.
• Submit all the above documents to your CPF Sector Head, along with CPF Application forms for your committee. We don’t require your ordinary members to be part of the CPF, but the elected committee are required to for accountability purposes.

Once you have submitted all your documents, the EXCO will review everything, as well as call your elected committee in for a meeting for a final verification and decision.