It’s a dangerous job, but we have to do it, says neighbourhood crime fighter

Ayesha Jacobs was shot in the leg while out on patrol with the Bonteheuwel Neighbourhood Watch nearly ten years ago.

• The City of Cape Town Neighbourhood Watch Support Programme offers training and equipment and has just expanded its training programme.
• A total of R6-million has been budgeted but there is not enough time or money to train all the watches, the City says.
• Cape Town has nearly 500 neighbourhood watches.

Ayesha Jacobs was shot in the leg in 2014 while on night patrol with her neighbourhood watch group in Bonteheuwel, Cape Town. Ten years later, she still goes out on patrol, but from the safety of a police van.

The Bonteheuwel group, established in 2011, is one of several which benefit from the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate’s Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) Support Programme. The programme offers equipment and training.

Jacobs says that on 7 December 2014 she was out on night patrol with her son. It was a little before 1am when their group saw movement inside Bonteheuwel High School.

“As we moved closer to investigate, a guy came out with a backpack on. We called him and asked him to open the bag. He unzipped it enough for us to see guns inside. As we were peeking in the bag, gunshots went off from inside the school.”

“We started to run and all of a sudden I fell. At the time I did not realise that I was hit. I tried to get up but could not move. Some of the members tried to pull me up and help me but it was just too tough. I told them it was okay, they should leave me,” said Jacobs.

She lay as still as she could as the other watch members, including her son, who had also been shot, fled to safety in a nearby house.

“I played dead in the hope that they would think they had killed me and not come and finish me off.”

She still has a bump where the bullet is lodged and the shooting has left her with a limp and leg pain. When she is tired, she uses crutches. And yet she still goes out in a police van a couple of times a month when the NHW does a joint operation with police.

The group frequently has to deal with smash and grab robberies as well as domestic violence, says the NHW’s secretary Debbie Brown.

This year, the Bonteheuwel watch of about 30 members received 40 solar-powered flashlights, 25 reflective jackets and 20 radios from the City.

She said the group had also applied for funding.

In Nyanga, three NHWs have received reflective jackets, six two-way radios and six flashlights, says Fundiswa Menzi, who has been a member of one of the groups since its establishment in 2013.

“It is a dangerous job that we do, but we have to do it and stand up for our areas. The most common types of crime around here are hijackings and robberies, there is also an element of gangsterism,” said Menzi.

“Victims of the robberies are usually those that are going or coming back from work. We work in shifts. The earliest that we normally start is 6am. We also have a shift in the afternoon, around when the children come back from school, and we knock off at 6pm.”

Menzi says criminals have often threatened them “but we soldier on”. She said they work closely with the community policing forum (CPF) and the police, especially when it comes to serious crimes such as hijackings.

She is hoping to receive training under the City’s support programme.

The City said in a statement in July that in the 2023/4 financial year, training for NHWs was expanded to include first aid, situational crime prevention and preparedness for civil unrest.

“For the current financial year, just under R6-million is available from ward allocations and directorate budget, some of which will go towards training interventions, including first aid training … combat and self-defence skills and basic firefighting training,” the statement said.

In terms of equipment, NHWs will receive trauma and burn kits to provide initial assistance until first responders arrive; flashlights, spotlights, body cameras, dashboard cameras, bicycles, high visibility jackets, two-way radios and night vision equipment.

Nkosinasthi Kambi is one of the founders of the Khanya Group NHW in Gugulethu, which was started in 2013. It is one of several in Gugulethu.

They have not had any training for several years but have received equipment including reflector jackets, whistles, two-way radios and flashlights. Some Gugulethu groups had received first-aid kits, said Kambi.

As well as patrolling, the group deals with complaints from residents.

“We receive a lot of complaints about robberies … A recent case was someone who was robbed of their cellphone. Luckily the complainant had recognised one of the robbers, so with a few others, we went to the robber’s house, found him, and right enough, he admitted to being one of the robbers and he ended up taking us to where they had sold the cellphone. We managed to get the cellphone back,” said Kambi.

He said when they came face to face with criminals they did not use violence. The group would reprimand the criminals or use a “humiliation strategy”, recording them on video saying where they were from and what crime they had committed, and then circulate the video on social media.

“We find most of these culprits who commit these crimes know us … Sometimes you’ll get to the person’s home, and without us even saying a word, they will tell what they did and where we can find the stolen property,” said Kambi.

He said they worked closely with police and the Community Policing Forum.

Crimes that were reported to Khanya Group included robberies, gender-based violence and domestic violence, he said.

Kambi said he would like to see more equipment distributed to NHWs and more frequent communication with the City.

Charl Viljoen, from the City’s NHW support programme, said there are 490 accredited NHWs in the metropole. He said it was not possible to assist each NHW with training and equipment because of budget and time constraints.

“The City’s Safety and Security Directorate provides crime prevention and first aid training to those NHWs who request support. Patrol or crime prevention equipment is also made available to those requesting support or where we find a particular need.”

“The duration of training depends on the type of training provided. It usually takes a few hours. Some first aid modules require more time,” said Viljoen.

Training was free of charge, he said.

“Those who benefit are not ‘chosen’. The services are provided on request and where a local councillor or community safety liaison officer may identify a particular need,” said Viljoen.

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