Hi All,
It has been a while and we have been cooking up a few things, keeping ourselves warm with the fever that comes from working on making our area a better place to live, work and play in!  So herein please find an update on crime and a huge announcement of a forthcoming event to be held at the station.  So read on and pass this on to others in our community.  We need to reach more of our constituents so get involved and get them in touch with us!

The Norwood SAPS Open Day – 10th September 2011
The goal of the open day is to raise awareness of and promote the Norwood SAPS and the NCPF within our community. We see this as the perfect opportunity to get the community into the station and interact with the SAPS. We would like to break down the barriers between the community and the police to encourage them to work together. It is only when we work together that we can create a safe society for us to work and live in.
We will be holding events and entertainment throughout the day so bring the family and come get to know the people that protect and serve us.  We may even have some celebrities for you to mingle with…

Sponsorship – I have attached a sponsorship letter to this email and would appreciate any and all funding that is forthcoming.  We have a budget of around R 30,000 that we need to cover in order to hold a successful event.  As such are looking for corporate and personal sponsors to come forward. 
We will be approaching the larger companies operating in our area and if you know someone to whom we could engage please let me know.
We are busy finalising posters and other pamphlets printed to promote this.  We will be engaging local media within the next few weeks to get them broadcasting this far and wide.

Crime update
Crime is stable and is not increasing, despite what you may heard or read in your mailbox lately.  That does not mean things are rosy as we still have incidences of criminal activity in our area.  Especially around Louis Botha in Orange Grove, Norwood and Highlands North. 

MO update:
Roller gates – gates on tracks – I have talked about this before, but these gates can be easily breached by criminals.  They lift the gate off of its tracks and are able to gain access to your property.  We do have a community member that can remedy this situation and it is not an expensive process.  If you would like to get in touch with him please let me know and I shall pass on his details.

Worst affected areas & streets:
Orange Grove – 14th Str, 15th Str & Atholl – also around 4 – 6th Streets,
Norwood – William and Grant seems to again be attracting attention.
Worst affected days & times:
Friday & Saturday
From 16:00 (4pm) to midnight.

Crime that occurred:
There was a robbery at the Sports pavilion in Norwood which the Norwood SAPS and security personnell responded to.  Two suspects were arrested and a firearm was recovered in the arrest.  Congratulations should go to Capt Maganedisa for his work in this arrest.

There was a community member at our monthly meeting that mentioned a possibility that some break-ins are not being reported.  If you do not report a crime it did not happen.  The SAPS, and we, need to know what is happening and where crime is occurring.  If we do not know we cannot allocate time and resources to the issue.  Do not just report for insurance purposes (or to collect insurance), report because you must as it may be the difference in getting a criminal caught or him going on to commit more serious offenses.

Shoplifting has come up a bit lately.  If you do see suspicious persons, or groups of person, in a shop or center please let security know of this.  They can then do something about it.  If there is no security inform the shop owner or call the SAPS.  10111 is always useful for emergency assistance and if you want someone to come and have a look at suspicious activity call the sector vehicle. 

One of the Sector 3 phones has gone missing so there is one number that is out of action.

Sgt Freedom "Black Diamond" Phiri’s passing
Condolences & thoughts go to the family of a reservist who worked at our station since 2004.  Sgt Phiri unfortunately lost his life in an accident on the 21st July 2011 – he was 31 years old.  I had the pleasure of working with him on a few occasions and his passing is a huge loss to the station.  The words spoken at his service were touching and it is so sad to see a man, clearly loved and respected, taken so early on in his life.  We should all honour his life, of which he gave voluntarily to our service, by getting involved in our area and helping out where we can.

Thanks and please let me know of any activity.  I shall pass this on to the SAPS. 

Thanks to all those that give of their time and resources to the Norwood CPF and SAPS.
Have a great evening.
Yours,
Duncan
Norwood Community Police Forum
078 014 2387
www.ncpf.co.za
Fax – 086 638 4230
Twitter – @NorwoodCPF
Facebook – Norwood Community Police Forum