OH WATCH

Dear Good Resident of Oranjezicht and Higgovale

Heritage Day in Homestead Park

We would like to start this update with positive news, before talking about crime. The best place is with a report back on our Heritage Day celebration. What a great day. A wonderful vibe, with the park packed with families and their children, all having a good time. We were blessed with a wind free mild day, after a nail biting weekend of cold and rain, and could not have wished for better on the day.

With a background of swinging jazz, everybody enjoyed themselves in the relaxed atmosphere, with delicious food, good wine and beer being enjoyed by all. Our boerie roll stand sold out yet again this year, in spite of increasing stocks significantly compared to last year, with an emergency purchase of rolls from Carluccis to try and carry us through.

The success of the day was due to the fantastic support we enjoyed from a wide range of people, from enthusiastic stall holders, to the many volunteers from our community who gave freely of their time to ensure that everything went according to plan. We were also fortunate to have sponsors like Remax, who paid for much of our expenses, and other suppliers who helped us free of charge, or at a discounted rate.

It is clear that we had a financially successful day, which will help us reach our goal of completing the close to R700k funding for our License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras.

Thanks to all of you who attended, who helped, and who supported the traders freely. It is much appreciated. Our event has become a very visible symbol of the community spirit we are determined to achieve. Only by getting to know each other, and looking out for each other, will we succeed in fighting the scourge of crime.

Our thanks to Remax for their continued support of Heritage Day in the Park.

OH Watch would like to thank the following corporate supporters:
Remax, Madame Zingara, The SA Breweries, Touareg Tents, Gearhouse Group, Andrew Ford Music, Stags Head Pub, BOS Brands, Polyoak Packaging, Giovannis Deli, Wasteplan Waste Management,Cape to Cairo 2007 Shiraz, Prins & Prins Diamonds, City Bowl Armed Response (CBAR), Clarkes Bookshop, Derrick Ad Agency, Marianne Liebenberg Design, My Space Restaurant, Fivestar PR, Green Point Cricket Club, Woolworths Taste Magazine and the SA Police Service (SAPS).

Special thanks to the City of Cape Town and Straatwerk, to the many individual volunteers and traders, providers of ingredients and produce and friends of OH Watch.

Competition Time

We have uploaded 17 images of Heritage Day in the Park as a slideshow on the OH Watch website, www.ohwatch.co.za. Identify yourself or your kid and win a prize. email: info@ohwatch.co.za

Crime for the week

Unfortunately, criminals don’t take holidays. This was brought home to us on the evening of the Heritage day in the Park celebration. Two Bravo males and one Bravo female entered a property in Rugby Road, tying up the residents, before making off with their vehicle. The criminals had been spotted walking in the road earlier, obviously scouting the area. As soon as the sun went down, they jumped over the high palisade fence, onto an Otto bin and attacked the two residents.

In another incident, later in the week, this time in Hilton Road, a resident returned home at about 10.30 in the morning, to find that the sliding gate had been lifted off its rails by three Bravo males, who fled in a Silver Citi Golf on her arrival.

These incidents, and others in our area this week, in Rosemead Avenue and elsewhere, again show us how brazen the criminals are. They are not afraid of entering properties during the day, and are often in upmarket cars. If we all reported suspicious behaviour immediately, it would have a significant impact on crime. In both the above incidents, the criminals were clearly visible, and must have been seen by passers by, who paid little attention.

Rather raise a false alarm, than ignore suspicious activity that could result in an act of crime. The police can be contacted on 021 4678001/2. They are invariably courteous, and helpful, and respond as soon as possible. You can also contact ADT and CBAR, and give them descriptions of the individuals or vehicles that appear suspicious. If suspects are in a vehicle, make an effort to record the licence plate number, as this helps SAPS to track the vehicle and its registration details. If you can purchase a two way radio from OH Watch, we recommend you do as response if faster. See http://www.ohwatch.co.za/radio-network

Alarm Activations

We would like residents to be aware of the fact that often neighbourhood watch patrollers are the first to respond to alarm activations, be they false alarms or not. Should you come across a patroller near or on your property, please ask them for identification, and be aware that they are acting in your best interests.

License Plate Recognition (LPR)Installation

We have been busy installing the LPR system over the past three weeks. The backend server has been installed and the Visec software is running. The Kloof Street camera is up and steaming both overview and LPR footage. The Buitenkant Street and Crassula Avenue cameras are also up and should have been streaming footage but this is slightly delayed due to the rain. The Installation for the other cameras will proceed next. All the Level 1 Vehicles - wanted in connection with a particular crime are loaded - in total there are 20. Additionally we have loaded 184 vehicles, they are level 2 and 3 vehicles which are vehicles suspected to be involved in crime or where drivers are acting suspiciously. No alerts have been triggered as yet but the overview camera in Kloof Street has already picked up a car guard doing a drug deal in front of the Lifestyle Centre and also looking into vehicles possibly with the intent of breaking in.

Our thanks to the over 130 households who have made contributions. Recently we received contributions from City Bowl Ratepayers Association (CIBRA) and Devils Peak Vredehoek Neighbourhood Watch (DPV Watch). We have almost reached our total of close to R700k. If you have still not contributed it is not too late. See bank details under funding.