A G E N D A
1. Present
2. Apologies
3. Confirmation of previous minutes
4. Matters arising from previous minutes
5. Bust of the Month
6. Guest Speaker
7. Crime Report
8. SDIP/patrol scheme
9. Report By Security Company
10. General
11. Next Meeting

COMMUNITY POLICING FORUM
2009-05-19

1. PRESENT AS PER ATTENDANCE LIST 

2. APOLOGIES: 
 Liz Galloway

3. CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES:
Proposed by Mr Malcolm Hawkey, seconded by Mr Andy Tribe

4. MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES
Community members queried whether anything had been done regarding the boom gate guards at the Civic Centre. Supt Singh replied Clr Peer was to be addressed.

5. BUST OF THE MONTH
Cst Clark received the award on behalf of D/Cst Morgan Govender for a hijacking conviction he secured.

6. GUEST SPEAKER. 
At this meeting the guest speaker was Joanna Carlson of “SMS Naybers” 
This organisation links community members in a road or neighbour hood via cell phone SMS. Neighbours can share information, crime warnings and other information between each other via a secure network. By sending one SMS, a member of the community can communicate with all the others in their specific group.

This is an excellent tool which can be used to spread information about anything form lost dogs to crime tips and information gleaned from the SAPS. It would be ideal to have your group to be as trustworthy as possible so that if for example you were going on holiday and had a house sitter at your home, your group of “Naybers” would not be concerned if they saw a strange car or person on your property. A further use would be to strengthen ties and communication channels within and existing street watch. Messages are conveyed immediately as would any cell phone SMS and unlike e-mail, emergencies or calls for help can be communicated instantly. This could be very effective if children or elderly who are home alone need assistance, with one SMS, their plea will be received by many respondents at once so improving the chances of help coming quickly.

If one of the members of the group fall victim to crime, this information can also be spread rapidly and so then reinforce the community spirit when comfort and reassurance is brought back from all who receive the message.

Joanna can be contacted on 084 707 4003 or 031 764 0888.

7. CRIME REPORT
Supt Singh explained how certain crimes such as housebreaking had stabilised. He indicated that there were several suspicious vehicles that were operating in the Westville area that were linked to various house robberies.

8. SDIP
Mr Rusty Damp reports that his enquiries resulted in favourable responses form the community. A few cases stated that fingerprint experts were slow in responding.

9. REPORTS BY SECURITY COMPANIES
Nil.

10. GENERAL
A first time attendee indicated that he was dismayed at the poor attendance at the CPF meeting. Mr David Bramley echoed this sentiment saying there were over 6000 houses in Westville and an attendance of approximately 30 people was a poor reflection on the community’s attitude towards the efforts of the SAPS and CPF.

11. MEETING CLOSED AT 19:30

12. NEXT MEETING
 AGM, 2009-06-23.