OH WATCH

I was interested to hear an estate agent on Cape Talk last week speak about the link between neighbourhood watches and the price of property.

She said that buyers preferred to purchase a house in an area where there was an active neighbourhood watch as opposed to an area where a neighbourhood watch did not exist or was not that active.

This led me to do a bit of online research about the estate agency sector and crime.
“Estate agencies are often reluctant to admit that crime in the residential suburbs of South Africa has become a major reason for the slow house price recovery,” says Lanice Steward, Managing Director of Anne Porter Knight Frank (APKF). “Constant surveillance of this kind by communities has transformed certain precincts as radically as have CIDs in some urban areas,” says Steward.

In one case, says Steward, Anne Porter had taken a preliminary offer to buy from a keen buyer, who then called in on the local police station to check their views on crime in that precinct – and was so dismayed by what he heard that he cancelled his offer.

What has, in many areas, prevented the situation getting out of hand, says Steward, has been the remarkable success of neighbourhood watches. These, she says, are often staffed by men and women who have already put in a hard day’s work elsewhere but who appreciate the need for a supplementary service.

Experience in many watches has revealed four rather obvious facts:

1. The first is that the more residents can patrol, the more effective neighbourhood watches are likely to be.
2. Secondly, the criminals are highly aware of which homes are lived in by elderly or vulnerable people and tend to target these.
3. The third factor revealed by most neighbourhood watch statistics, is that in their first two to three years they become increasingly
   effective but thereafter both the organisers and staff find it hard to maintain their enthusiasm and ongoing recruitment.
4. Fourthly, if and when efforts are made to ensure that the entire neighbourhood becomes ‘watch affiliates’ - crime is, again, held back.

Experience in the suburbs of South London and in Sydney, Australia, has shown that when the women and the older people of the community take on daylight activities, the whole population becomes alert to possible incidents. But, crime can be - and is being - beaten in those communities which are proactive rather than reactive and which ‘enrol’ law-abiding members as another pair of eyes in round-the-clock campaigns.

The key challenge for us at OH Watch is to keep up the enthusiasm amongst our members to do something proactive. It is pointless whinging about crime and not attempting to participate in even a very small way. And remember this is not solely a ‘South African phenomenon’ where citizens are encouraged to get involved in the fight against crime. The UK’s citizenry is heavily involved in Neighbourhood Watches - it works and it is successful where energy is maintained.

The full enjoyment of living anywhere is not simply in creating a wonderful private space, but in maximising the value gained from the whole area we call ‘home’. This includes our public parks and streets and of course our beautiful natural environment, that is under enormous strain from more and more development, some of it not sensitive to the aesthetics of place.

It is for this reason that we must resist the urge to retreat into our pigeonholes and become paralysed by the fear of crime, or not being able to do something about anything. We should be going out and doing more in our public spaces, not less. The greater the public usage the greater will be the visible presence of people and the clearer the message that ‘they’ have not won! Take Homestead Park as an example. We’ve taken it back.

At the end of the day the responsibility for crime prevention ultimately rests with SAPS - but it is acknowledged that their resources are spread thin on the ground and they can only do so much.

What can the real estate industry do to help? Our particular Neighbourhood Watch in OH Watch is regularly cited by the local estate agents as one of the reasons to buy in Oranjezicht and Higgovale. The Neighbourhood Watch is in fact directly bolstering property values in the area. As such estate agencies should be much more involved and contribute significantly towards the direct and indirect costs of running a NW, which are massive. OH Watch has a paid Administrator, 124 radio’s paid for individually and given to SAPS and CBAR and ADT, workshops and meetings, regular awards for patrollers. Neighbourhood Watches all over are helping your industry make more money - it’s time to invest in these structures in order to maintain your revenue! It is in your interest to do so.

Make no mistake, we have had wonderful support from Remax and Jawitz, and we are very grateful, but nothing from all the other agents operating in our area. Residents should take this into account and support those companies that support our community.

And the ‘scores of residents’ who are not yet members of our neighbourhood watch, should seriously consider joining and getting actively involved. Members are all ordinary folk with family, work and other commitments just like you and me, making a difference for everyone’s benefit whether they participate or not. And if you feel you cannot contribute in sweat equity, then consider the financial assistance that would be hugely appreciated for desperately needed assistance like employing a full time security observer, events in our parks, planting trees, cop of the month awards etc.

Working together to bring out the best in our neighbourhood will re-energise our confidence in the human spirit!