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Reporting incidents to the CID and receiving alerts and feedback from the CID

Written by 0vdge on . Posted in CIDimp, Uncategorised.

Need to know

  • Save 087 223 2864 on your phone and use it to call or WhatsApp message the CID control room for ALL incident reporting.
    1. Tap or click on the invite link here to join the group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GLFNV9ckews6pkJ4V8nlQ8
    2. Then choose which channels to join to stay informed and receive alerts
  • For regular updates on the CID’s activities, tips and Camps Bay news, follow us:

Frequently Asked Questions

 So what has changed?

  • There is only one number for phone calls and WhatsApp messages for all incident reporting to the CID. That number is 087 223 2864. This will allow for two-way communication with the CID control room.
  • We encourage you to save this number in your contacts as ‘CID Control Room’.
  • The Camps Bay CID has set up an umbrella WhatsApp group called Camps Bay CID Community that includes emergency / alert channels for the different geographical sectors in Camps Bay and a neighbourhood-wide crime reports channel.
  • The emergency / alert channels for the different parts of Camps Bay are intended for:
    • important, time-sensitive announcements; and
    • two-way communication in emergency situations only (see below).
  • From 1 September 2024, the CID WILL NOT monitor or respond to any of the legacy Camps Bay Watch Telegram Security groups, and will stop monitoring the Camps Bay Watch Telegram Emergency groups after a transitionary period.
  • Use 087 223 2864 (by calling or sending a WhatsApp message) to report emergencies, crime incidents, suspicious activity, illegal structures, municipal issues (illegal dumping, overflowing drains, faulty streetlights, potholes, litter, etc.) or any other matters requiring the CID’s attention.
  • Your report will be logged, distributed to the relevant CID team, and any follow-up communication conducted directly between you and the CID control room.

  How do I stay informed and receive alerts, crime reports etc?

  • When you join the Camps Bay CID Community WhatsApp group you will automatically be added to the Announcements This channel will only be used for important, suburb-wide one-way alerts. “One-way” means that only administrators can post messages on this channel.
  • After joining the group, you will have the option to join various other channels within the group, including sector-specific one-way alerts channels, a one-way Crime Reports channel, and a two-way Lost and Found
  • You may join as many or as few channels as you wish, by tapping on the relevant channel. You can leave any channel (or even the entire group) at any time.
  • For example, if you live in the Village area, you may wish to join Alerts – Village (for Village-specific alerts) and Crime Reports (for neighbourhood-wide crime reports).

When will the emergency / alert groups be opened up for two-way communications?

  • In emergency situations, it may be useful or necessary for residents to communicate amongst themselves or otherwise provide information in real-time for CID staff or public safety service providers to act upon.
  • In such circumstances, admins will open up only the relevant group for two-way communications. After the emergency has passed the group will revert to one-way communication only.

How secure are the emergency / alert groups?

  • For security reasons, in order to join one of the sector alert channels you will need to be a resident of Camps Bay or have another legitimate reason for joining.
  • Membership of these groups therefore requires admin approval. Please be patient if this takes time, particularly in the beginning when there may be large number of people wishing to join.

What are the different channels in the Camps Bay CID Community WhatsApp group?

Channel

Purpose

Announcements

· Important suburb-wide announcements only.

· All Camps Bay CID Community group members receive these announcements.

· Only CID admins can post on this channel.

Sector Alerts:

· Bakoven

· Glen

· Middle

· Rontree 1

· Rontree 2

· Village

· Alerts of interest only to specific areas of Camps Bay, including crime warnings and useful notifications.

· Only CID admins can post on this channel.

· In emergency situations or other exceptional circumstances CID admins may temporarily open these groups for two-way communication.

· For security reasons, admin approval is required to join these groups.

Crime Reports

· Receive significant crime and related reports such as house break-ins, attempted break-ins, robberies, major arrests, etc.

· Only CID admins can post on this channel.

Lost and Found

· Share information about lost and found pets, personal items, etc.

· Any member of this channel may post on it.

· Note that this channel is included solely as a community service. The CID control room will not be actively monitoring this channel.

· Lost persons or other emergency requests for assistance must always be reported to  087 223 2864.

  Why is the CID doing it this way?

  • Before the CID was established, CBCSI offered multiple ways to report incidents:
    1. Calling the CBCSI control room on a Telkom landline
    2. A separate number for the CBCSI control room for WhatsApp and Telegram
    3. The Buzzer app, which also routed to the CBCSI control room
    4. Reporting the incident to Camps Bay Watch via their Telegram Security and Emergency groups, which the CBCSI control room was also a member of.
  • In addition, there were multiple ways to receive feedback:
    1. Phoning the CBCSI control room
    2. From Camps Bay Watch via their Telegram Security and Emergency groups
    3. From CBCSI via their Members Channel on Telegram (for CBCSI subscribers only)
  • If the above sounds less than efficient and somewhat more complicated than necessary, that’s because it was. The system had evolved piecemeal over time, with its roots originally in the needs of Camps Bay Watch more than 15 years ago, and later complicated by only a minority of the neighbourhood being members of CBCSI.
  • The CID, which all residents and property owners are invested in, is an opportunity to reset and simplify, in particular by consolidating the multiple separate communication channels and coordinating everything through the CID and its control room.
  • After some analysis of the options, WhatsApp was selected over Telegram because of its much bigger user base, thereby ensuring a wider audience and greater convenience for residents. Using one number on one platform for both calls and messages means:
    1. One number – 087 223 2864 – for reporting anything and everything, thereby ensuring a more streamlined and efficient control room.
    2. All alerts and information contained within a single Camps Bay CID Community WhatsApp group means one simple, easy to remember location for communication from the CID, plus easy-to-navigate channels within that for specific areas of interest.
    3. Residents can now get only the feedback that they want, without the information overload that often comes from multiple separate two-way messaging groups.

Other communication channels

Follow the Camps Bay CID on Facebook here:  https://www.facebook.com/campsbaycid and Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/campsbaycid

Camps Bay property owners will receive a monthly newsletter straight to their email inboxes. If you’re not receiving newsletters and would like to, please email connect@campsbaycid.org.

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