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		Frequently Asked Questions	Tweet

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Here are some of the questions we have received from the Community.

Please feel free to contact the CCPO if you have any questions you would like us to answer.

We will endeavor to answer all questions that are put forward to us either by way of e-mail or via the CCPO web site. The "FAQ's" page will be updated periodically.

I live in (name of street).... the past few months have seen guards on a regular basis in our road. This prompted me to subscribe as well and I have also noticed a lot more CCPO signs going up. Strange, but since I have subscribed, not one guard has been seen.

The guards are being moved from area to area as per the crime patterns. It is not possible to have guards in all areas at all times just as it would not be possible to have police members in all areas at all times.

How does your Organisation work?

The CCPO is a section 21 company (non profit) and was started by and is headed up by 6 voluntary members of the community (The committee). The main focus of the CCPO is to reduce crime in Amanzimtoti and to make the streets, shopping centres, beaches, parks etc a safer place to frequent. The CCPO is achieving this by managing the funds paid in by the community in conjunction with managing the security company that has been hired to patrol our streets in support of our existing SAPS infrastructure.

We belong to the bicycle patrol set up by Cindy why must we pay CCPO as well?

This one Cindy will need to answer as I think that they are looking at doing something with Securelogic. The other point that people need to try and remember is that the CCPO initiative is NOT solely focused on residential street patrols, but that its' main focus is making safe the public areas such as shopping areas, public parks, beaches, footpaths, public shopping areas (CBD etc.).

Your intention of putting a guard in each road if enough people sign up. How and when will this work?

Once again I think that this has been misunderstood. This project is a community project and we will not discriminate between roads/streets. You can secure your home and immediate street but you still need to be safe when you enter the public areas such as going to the bank, walking through the CBD, parking at the beach, children walking home from school etc.

If we have more than 120 people in our street who have joined , are we now entitled to our own Guards 24hrs? We feel we worked together just for this?

Yes, you have done extremely well with the amount of people you have got to join, and it is greatly appreciated. However, should you have a guard 24 hrs, your entire contribution would go towards paying for that guard. And lets assume that everybody did exactly that, who would pay for the guards currently patrolling the CBD, who would pay for the guards on Beach road Toti, the guards in Warner beach, the vehicle that is sweeping the areas at night while we sleep in search of suspicious activity, the guards at the traffic lights at peak times averting hi-jackings etc etc etc? Unfortunately this initiative has never been about your street or your house, it is about the public areas that we all use and wining back these areas so that our children can walk home from school, go to the beach, go to the shops, use the CBD again etc. We will and do respond to incidents in the residential areas, seek out and arrest criminals and patrol the residential areas but the core focus of the CCPO initiative is to support the existing SAPS infrastructure by way of visible, proactive policing.

If we have managed to get at least 60 people in our street or surrounding streets, does this not entitle us to a guard in our area? We feel it will show those who do not pay what benefits there are, when everyone joins.

Explained in the other answers

Surely if most in my street are paying then we deserve the guards to patrol our area more than those who sit on the fence, waiting to see the benefits before they join?

Yes you are, but this initiative is not designed to replace your existing security measures you pay for at your residence, but more to keep all the residents safer when using the public roads, footpaths, beaches, shopping centres, children walking home from school etc. One thing to remember, you cannot take your armed response company, alarm system and burglar bars with you when go to the shops, or when your family park and walk to the beach. We are working towards "winning back our streets" as a community and NOT creating yet another response company.

If I don't see a guard patrolling my street then I think I am going to stop my contribution.

You are obviously entitled to stop your contribution, but unless your street is deemed via the crime stats to be a hotspot we cannot dedicate a guard to your street. If everybody demanded a guard in their street for their R100 this initiative would not go ahead. Please remember that your R100 goes towards paying for the guards that patrol the public areas that are used by all the residents of this community and is designed to create a visible presence to keep the criminals out. It must also be pointed out that a guard costs R 12,000.00 per month per 24 hour shift.

When will the guards be in my street?

The residential areas are "swept" at random at night, and those considered "hot spots" are patrolled more frequently. You are paying for the visible policing in the public areas of your community, your home and immediate residential street is not the only area that you are exposed to the potential threat of crime.

What are the CCPO committees overall intentions?

While it is the committees intention and the overall aim of the committee to get guards / patrols to cover the entire area, it is not possible at this early stage to fully implement this plan because: People are slow to sign up and without written financial commitment we cannot employ more guards to the system. We will only expand as we get the right people in place and are confident that they are meeting expectation in that area and are being properly managed. Critical areas have to be addressed first and properly secured going foreword so that the criminal element does not return as we move into other areas.

It is true that at the moment the CCPO is mainly in the Toti and now Warner Beach CBD's?

Due to the presence of the CCPO in these areas, crime has been significantly reduced allowing the SAPS to increase their patrols in the residential areas, which has resulted in a jump in the number of arrests for housebreaking, robbery and car theft etc. in these areas. The public now have an additional response team in times of crisis, as the CCPO have started responding to incidents in the residential areas, and although still in the early stages, have been successful on a number of occasions in assisting with incidents.

While some people do not personally use the CBD most residents do at some time in the month make use of the CBD or shops in and around TOTI, It is also known that a number of criminals who operate in the CBD come to and leave the CBD via the residential areas. So if we keep them out of the CBD they will have no reason to walk through your neighborhood.

CCPO has done it's homework with regards to the Amanzimtoti community as a whole but unfortunately can only deploy guards according to the funds received. With regards to the number of guards, this is an ongoing strategy and guards will we deployed in accordance with the crime trends. CCPO is a community initiative which will not discriminate between areas but that will focus its' attention on the areas that need it the most. A number of the criminals chased away from the CBD are known to the SAPS and CCPO and when seen in other areas have been moved on again. The police presence in AP has also increased due to the CCPO presence in the CBD's and beach front. It is absolutely imperative not to get the CCPO strategy confused with armed response. The operating security company will not be competing with, replacing or offering the same service as your existing reaction company, but rather putting visual armed presence on the streets that will serve to support the existing SAPS infrastructure. You would not expect SAPS to respond to alarm activation, neither will the operating security company unless specifically requested in an absolute emergency. I suppose in a nutshell we are not proposing to protect you while in the safe haven of your home, but rather to initially rid our streets, beaches, shopping centers and all public areas of criminals and criminal activity. We are in the process of discussing the possibility of using ablution facilities at certain garages and public/government buildings.

What type of weapons are the guards using?

Only Paint ball guns and shotguns are being used by the guards as these are the least danger to members of the public. Should an incident arise where more heavily armed response is needed, the SAPS will be called in. The security company has undertaken to ensure that whatever arms are issued are done so under strict regulation and to those guards who are qualified to carry and use them.

Who is monitoring the guards, checking that they are operating within their mandate?

Leon Jooné is employed to see that all guards will meet with the requirements as set out by the Security board. To date no criminal has been publicly shamed even drug pushers have been caught and handed over to the police. CCPO as a committee cannot take responsibility of the actions of any security company deployed. The security company in question has given CCPO and SAPS reassurance that they will only operate within the parameters of the law. Combat security is required by law to comply with legislation pertaining to staff conditions of employment, they are also aware that should it be found that they are knowingly breaking the law in any area, we as the CCPO will terminate their services and look at other service providers.

Is the initiative working?

The CCPO feel that the initiative is already proving successful, however we anticipate it is going to take up to 6 months to get the required number of people signed up and guards deployed in all the residential areas. We have done an assessment and feel as a committee that 1 guard is better than none. We are confident that with the financial support of the community this initiative will be effective, all that remains to be seen is how effective and that will rest solely in the hands of our community and its' level of support. We are in the process of setting up our own database to track and monitor crime in the area. This will also be available to the public via the CCPO web site. Our success will ultimately however be measured by public support for the initiative. We are fully committed to working with the SAPS, Metro Police and all other community policing bodies. The Combat group has already started to attend the weekly meetings. The CCPO, the security company, SAPS and Metro will constantly compare notes and strategies, in fact this is already taking place via email with incident reports and community feedback. We are happy to be a part of any forum that is working towards a safer Amanzimtoti and are not adverse to any advice and assistance from other groups working towards the same goals.