Westville Community Policng Forum

A BIT OF NERVOUSNESS COULD BE RECOMMENDED: By: Julian Carter, CARDRU CONSULTANCY SERVICES - March 2009
I have to admit that I have staggered through my life so far in an almost constant state of nervousness related to the unknown and the unexpected. I think it all started when I lay on the operating table at the age of about nine waiting for a very definitely cross-eyed surgeon to remove my appendix. I joke not, his eyes went in different directions and heaven alone knows how his sight ever met in the middle. As it happened all was well and I was presented with the offending article, floating in a bottle of preservative, the next day. From that day, regardless of the reported expertise of the physician, I continue to be extremely nervous of anyone wielding a very sharp instrument in my direction when I’m either sedated or not.
Isn’t it rather like life in general? Most of us have a dreadful fear of the unknown and the unexpected, often to a state of paranoia which can drive us to a state of added ill health from worry and concern. This will often reflect on others around us, and may even pertain to our own loved ones being the object of the initial concern. All of this can, believe it or not, have its good and bad points if correctly directed.
The good side of this nervousness should relate to the generation of awareness of the world around us, and the things that could lead to the downfall or distress of ourselves or the people around us. We live in a dangerous world, not only of crime and the criminals but also of elements such as major weather changes and poor workmanship. I believe that if I were able to offer words of wisdom to the world they would be: “BE CONSTANTLY AWARE”.
Today’s criminal is educated in the ways of his business and clued up in the means to overcome obstacles placed in his way. Being aware will keep us conscious of a possible threat and hopefully one step ahead in the ways of the criminal mind. Cultivate a questioning mind and ask yourself: “have I taken the correct precautions and are they sufficient to keep me safe?” Today you have to control and re-direct nervousness into the correct channels and STAY SAFE.
Comment/feedback directly to Julian Carter: cardru@saol.com
Comment/feedback directly to WCPF committee: westville-saps@saps.org.za

January 2009
JUST A STRAND OF BLONDE HAIR: From: Julian Carter
Personally I’m getting a little tired of both reading and watching the dilemmas that a certain top sportsman has found himself in, due entirely to his falling to one of the many temptations that often place themselves in the path of the rich and famous. Having said that, I must hasten to say that of course we do all get tempting offers from time to time, some legitimate and others far from it., and we don’t even have to be rich or famous. You may even have found yourself tempted to the point of asking yourself: - “will I be found out if I try it, and if so what will the consequence be?”
Once you have got away with it it’s much easier to justify doing the same thing again. The gent in question held the reputation of being “squeaky clean” and, it was believed, had every reason not to accept this particular temptation. He obviously felt that money would always clear the way for infidelity and he came unstuck in a pretty big way by losing both his family and some sponsors. Maybe not perceived all as being criminal, but it has the same end result, that of paying a high price.

Which brings me to the question of why a criminal does what he does? Certainly one of the answers has to be because we, as members of the community, place easy temptations in his way which encourage him to make a living without much strain attached.
Shoplifting today has become a major business for the perpetrator and a progressively larger headache for the trader. I recently heard of cases where, in one day, a man had loaded a bakkie with items lifted from a shopping centre and a large woman who was caught taking out her third turkey for the day, hidden in a specially designed bag carried between her legs. It possibly all started with an easy temptation offered by a store display, and the thought that “nothing much will happen to me over such a small offence.” I believe that it would give up a very interesting statistic if we could find an answer to the question: “What percentage of the community, at all levels have, have at some stage in their lives succumbed to trying out a bit of petty theft?”

So our World Sportsman has fallen from grace. He has also become a figure of fun, being the brunt of hundreds of jokes associated with his misdeed. I find myself tempted to ask: “Was this just the tip of the iceberg and is there more to come?”
The messages I would like to pass on to you are: “You may not be all that famous, but don’t think it couldn’t happen to you. And please think very hard before you place temptation in the way of someone else.”
Perhaps we could start off the New Year with a bit of positive news for the media by changing the headlines to: “CRIME REDUCED BY 80% IN OUR RESIDENTIAL AREA.” Now wouldn’t that be great!

December 2009
GONE IN A FLASH! By: Julian Carter
Most people have tried photography in one form or another, with varying degrees of success and satisfaction. The average photographer is merely trying to record a moment in life where family or friends are involved in some form of celebration, or perhaps a trip taken either locally or overseas that needs to be recorded, to remind one of the good times past at some future date.
With the festive season nearly upon us there will, I hope, be lots of happy moments to record with family and friends and then perhaps to share with other more distant friends and relatives who were unable to be present. You may have to take as many as twenty photographs in order to get the result that you want. A childhood smile, or a never to be repeated facial expression that came and was gone, literally in a flash.
The pace of life just seems to get faster and faster as the years roll by. The gap between Mondays seems shorter and comes much faster. There is not as much time to enjoy reading and other good things that take up valuable time. The advent of the Computer and the cell phone have introduced far quicker communication, and with this comes the need get things done in a shorter time and even a feeling of impatience.
Having said all that we also have to be conscious of the fact that CRIME IS NOW A VERY PROFITABLE BUSINESS. There are very few ‘beginners’ in the criminal fraternity today and their world is heavily controlled by experts and syndicates. The time taken to steal a car, or its contents, or remove valuable items from your house or business, has been cut down to just a few minutes or, in some instances, seconds. The criminal knows that if he is caught he may well be put out of business for a while and he knows that the festive seasons is his ‘peak season’ for easy pickings, while you and I are off our guard enjoying ourselves.
We badly need to remind ourselves of the fact that both the good and the bad moments can happen in a flash. Don’t just get out of your car and let the engine running “because I’m only going to be a second” because in that second your car can be down the road. It will take less than a second to snatch your phone, handbag or briefcase in the moment that you are off guard. It has been shown on many occasions that you’re Office or Home can be completely ransacked and all valuable items stolen in just a matter of seven minutes or less.
If you happen to be the unhappy recipient of a visit from the criminal fraternity it could cause you untold hardship in the loss of things that you have always cherished. While you have some extra time over the holidays please just sit down, just for half an hour, and record the serial numbers of all your valuable possessions and credit cards. Then store this list in a very safe place or give it to a member of the family for safe keeping. I promise you that this will save you considerable hassle in the event of a crime. Please keep this season festive but crime free and don’t become another SAPS statistic – You’re a valuable commodity.

24 October 2009
THE EYES DOWN SHUFFLE: From: Julian Carter, CARDRU CONSULTANCY SERVICES

I am always a little distressed when I come across people, the younger set in particular, ‘walking’ without picking up their feet and with their eyes firmly fixed on the ground. The excuse that they are wearing “slops or sandals” at the time doesn’t wash with me because I often come across these same young people doing the same in school uniform with lace up shoes on. I have to wonder if this is seen as practice for a future rewarding career in ice skating which, I believe, uses a similar shuffling step.
But it doesn’t stop there and it’s not just the younger generation. I also come across adults, of all ages, with the same walk and think back to my younger days when this walk was reserved for the “Outies”, the beggars and the dustbin foragers. It was a sign of despair, no hope and almost the abandonment of life.
At present we are going through a period of recession in even more than just the field of finance. We read the papers and quickly become convinced that the world, as we know and loved it, is probably about to come to an end. All that will be left are the slick Politicians and their Company Director Wives, Drug Lords, Police Chiefs and Town Managers vying for whom can drive the fastest with their blue lights and cream the largest amount off some kind of contract.
Well let me tell you that it doesn’t need to be as bad as you think. You have a very definite say in what will befall you, and your family after you. But you will have to get off your behind and do something about it; it won’t just change by itself. If it’s wrong then you must protest! Get your neighbours to protest with you in large numbers. Oh gosh! You have just formed a working Neighbourhood Watch without too much trouble and you now even know your neighbour’s name and where he works. The neighbours might even turn out to be nice people that you can share the occasional braai with and swap ideas on how to keep the neighbourhood safe. The huge power associated with numbers is often forgotten as apathy and a lack of interest overwhelms us.
In talking with a very senior police official recently he indicated that he wanted to know about every area of concern or unrest in advance so that he could personally address the people concerned or allocate another senior official to attend on his behalf. His complaint was that he doesn’t get invited and half the time does not know about this particular area of deep concern.
I am well aware that this is probably being read by the converted and those who do care about our future. But how about trying to convert your neighbour and your colleague at work? You may well get a few strange looks and people thinking that you are “out of your mind”. But just one success should make your chest swell with pride and will certainly gain my congratulations. May I say WELL DONE in advance?

Comment/feedback directly to Julian Carter: cardru@saol.com
Comment/feedback directly to WCPF committee: westville-saps@saps.org.za

19 September 2009
“WESTVILLE WATCH” – OCTOBER 2009: From: Julian Carter, CARDRU CONSULTANCY SERVICES

The monthly newsletter “WESTVILLE WATCH” has unfortunately had to be stopped, we hope only for the time being. The cause of this can probably be blamed entirely on the current economic situation.
The Publisher of this newsletter relied completely on revenue from his advertisers to get this valuable and informative newsletter out to readers on a “free delivery” basis. Unfortunately some of his advertisers began to let him down with payment and got many months in arrears. On the other hand his printers were asking for money in advance before they would go to print. Gert, the Publisher, is very keen to re-establish the newsletter as a matter of some urgency.
I have held meetings with various bodies, including the Insurance Industry, with a view to getting new support for this initiative, so far without success. If anyone should have any ideas, or wish to advertise, we would appreciate hearing from you.
As an interim measure, and almost certainly as an addition to any future newsletter published, news of Westville police successes and failures, together with my usual editorial comment, will be published on the CPF Web site.

Comment/feedback directly to Julian Carter: cardru@saol.com
Comment/feedback directly to WCPF committee: westville-saps@saps.org.za

19 September 2009
THE SPREAD OF MISINFORMATION: AN EDITORIAL OPINION By: Julian Carter, CARDRU CONSULTANCY SERVICES

I wonder how often you have played the game of “broken telephone”? It’s the one where a number of people sit in a circle and pass a message from one to another until it returns to its starting point. Usually the end message received bares no similarity to the original message given and illustrates how very badly our society communicates.
The question of statistics being given out, either by the authorities or in the business world in general, can be fraught with danger if they end in a different format to the original. An increase of only one issue, over an original number of one, can correctly be translated as an increase of 100% even though it is actually maintenance of the same number. As a question of maintenance of the situation this may not cause a threat to either the community or stakeholders in a business, but as a percentage it can cause unnecessary panic.
At a meeting or general gathering you will inevitably find a person, either male or female, who has “picked up a stompie” of information, from an unremembered source, which has been dramatically changed in the telling. This information is suddenly passed on by the person concerned as an absolute fact waiting to be passed on, in ever increasingly changed form, by the listeners.
An excellent recent example of this was an e-mail message received by many in KZN from a sender in Gauteng. This message was quite emphatic in telling its recipients that new legislation had already been introduced across the country relating to the traffic points demerit system. I was in receipt of this but immediately referred it to contacts in both the Metro and SA Police forces. What I discovered was that, although the details sent with the letter were in fact correct ‘as a proposal’, the introduction in KZN is still a way off and only small pilot schemes had been introduced ‘on trial’ in areas of Gauteng and Port Elizabeth. I eventually received at least seven of these messages so I have to wonder how many people were misinformed in total.

I have always looked upon the question of crime statistics as a bit of “storm in a teacup”, although my views are not shared by all. Ask yourself what you will do with any given detailed statistics and I believe that most of you will have to answer “nothing, other than discuss them at the next dinner party.”

What you actually want to know is that there is an increasing/decreasing trend towards a certain type of crime in your area and the methods being used in both perpetrating the crime and protecting against it. Both of these can be achieved by regularly attending your local CPF meetings which, in the case of Westville, are held at the Baptist Church opposite the Westville Spar in Church Road at 18h00 on the third Tuesday of each month. See you there!

Comment/feedback directly to Julian Carter: cardru@saol.com
Comment/feedback directly to WCPF committee: westville-saps@saps.org.za


[ Home ] [ Recent Updates ] [ Editorial ] [ Emergency Numbers ] [ Crime Statistics ] [ Projects ] [ Articles ] [ Security Tips ] [ News ] [ Links ] [ Good News ] [ Search ] [ Contact Us ] [ Site Layout ] [ Downloads ] [ Missing persons ] [ Wanted ]