Norwood Community Policing Forum (NCPF)
Awareness Drive
8 August 2009

Norwood Mall, Norwood, Johannesburg, Gauteng.

Why?

The NCPF over the past few months has identified the lack of community participation in this programme as a critical flaw in the process of combating crime in our neighbourhoods. The role that the community can play in its own safety is crucial. The NCPF embarked on an awareness drive due to Orange Grove becoming such a crime hot spot. The time for active citizen participation is now.

The central aim of this event was two fold: One to alert local residents that this body exists. It is operational and efficient. Secondly we need to recruit people to become active members of the NCPF and their local residents associations.

Where
The Norwood Mall was identified as the location to hold the drive as it is centrally located within the areas that we work, live and play in. It would have a guaranteed level of traffic and was easy to arrange as the management of the Mall were very enthusiastic about the campaign.

Official Supporters

• Norwood Mall – venue and logistics for holding the event in the hall with SAPS vehicle placement in-front of the Mug & Bean coffee shop and Pick ‘n Pay entrance. They have also committed to printing 1000 black and white A5 flyers for future events.
• Chroma Copy and Print – printed 1000 A5 black and white A5 flyers, registration forms and A3 posters to advertise the event.
• CPF Partnership – Provided the team with 500 colour pamphlets which provide the public with information as to why they should support their local CPF, and gives the reader the opportunity to register their information and areas of interest with regards to joining

How / Who
A SAPS vehicle was available for the day which was parked in the mall creating much interest amongst shoppers and passers by. Flyers and information leaflets were placed all over the vehicle and as people stopped to read them, our volunteers opened a discussion with them about the initiative.

1000 flyers were printed, all of which were distributed and it is hoped these will bring in future members of the NCPF, as many people wanted to discuss joining with their spouses and families.

Several members of the NCPF were available on the day to speak to community members. The Norwood SAPS were represented by Captain Maganedisa. He was in dressed in full uniform and created a great attraction for the shoppers. Having the Captain there also gave the community members to meet their local SAPS representative for the first time and also, at times, to vent.

NCPF representatives at the drive: Capt. Maganedisa, Duncan Barker, Nick Barklem, Sol Cowan, Wendy Rubenstein and Emily Wellman.

Result:
A registration table was on hand for those community members who wanted to become actively involved to do so. 59 people registered with the NCPF and it is hoped they will become active members. 22 people are from the Orange Grove suburb and were especially keen to become engaged and all took extra hand-outs with the aim of encouraging their neighbours to join.

Two people joined the group and have offered their services in administration – support in the Charge office and another more general offer of assistance by a pensioner.

The show of support for SAPS by community members involved in the NCPF peaked the awareness of citizens who might not otherwise have known that initiatives like this are available, and many did not know that they had local Residents Associations. It would have been helpful if the Res. Ass leaders had been on hand for registration of new homeowners and to explain the difference between the two organisations.

One of the biggest successes of the day was a general feeling that ‘someone’ is doing something about crime and the compliments were plentiful.

The Way Forward
Communication with recently joined members must happen within a week after the drive providing them with more detailed information on the NCPF, schedules for upcoming meetings and ways for different people to become involved.

Fundraising for the NCPF is vital.

Lessons Learnt

• Residents Association leaders must be available on the day for awareness drives
• Concrete deliverables from the NCPF must be available and aims for the next 6 months – strategies for crime prevention
• Statistics on crime in the area
• Successes in the past of the NCPF

Awareness drives are scheduled to take place at Balfour Park Shopping Centre next.

Photographs of the event can be viewed by Clicking Here

Or by going to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=113709&id=520746490&l=f5158f7e20