Security: it is evident in the statistics that the crime is on the rise in CB despite good work by private security companies and Watchcon. The ineffectiveness of SAPS, the lack of Law and order and the bigger country problems (social economic, unemployment, rapidly lowering ethical standards etc) are key drivers. How will CID improve this?

The CID will aim to deploy a dedicated team of security services, including a combination of foot officers, mobile response, control centre, law enforcement and  technology to holistically address all issues of crime. Some of this is already being done by CBCSI, but with nowhere near the level of resources and funding required.

The CID will coordinate with statutory bodies such as the CPF (Community Policing Forum) and CBW (Camps Bay Watch) to minimize overlap and maximize collective effectiveness. Existing CBW and CBCSI Telegram and WhatsApp groups will be integrated and/or rationalized to maximize effectiveness of “eyes and ears” and information sharing.

The focus will be on enforcing bylaws to inculcate a culture of law abidance. Existing CBW and CPF relationships with primary agencies such as SAPS and City law enforcement units will be converted from part-time (provided by volunteers) to full-time (provided by CID employees and/or sub-contractors) to better and more consistently hold SAPS and the City accountable for the services that they are meant to deliver.

The CID also intends to expand the camera network, incorporating additional key points in the neighbourhood (e.g. green belts known to be access routes for criminals) into existing monitoring systems.

Overall, the aim is to increase our capacity and resources for proactive prevention, monitoring and response. What we’re seeing in Camps Bay in part follows naturally from the success of neighbouring CIDs, which has caused a natural migration of crime to areas such as Camps Bay where fewer policing and response resources are available.

Unfortunately a CID cannot address the socio-economic problems that lead to crime, but it can and will mitigate and improve the management of the consequences and thereby improve the situation for residents and businesses on a daily basis.