Who We Are

• PREVENT CRIME by improving security, increasing vigilance, creating and maintaining a caring community and reducing opportunities for crime by increasing awareness of effective crime prevention measures.
• Assist SAPS and other law enforcement agencies in DETECTING CRIME by promoting effective communication and the prompt reporting of suspicious and criminal activity – by being the eyes and ears for the police within the community.
• Serve as a channel to hold SAPS and other law enforcement organisations ACCOUNTABLE to the community.
• MONITOR crime trends and liaise with SAPS and other civic organisations to ensure that changes in crime patterns in the area are being addressed proactively.
• Encourage residents to adopt practices and behaviours that MINIMIZE CRIME.
• REDUCE UNDUE FEAR of crime by providing accurate information about risks and by promoting a sense of security and community spirit, particularly amongst the more vulnerable members of our community.
• Initiate and manage programmes, projects and other crime prevention initiatives that INCREASE THE SAFETY of the community.
• We build a community of neighbours who TRUST one another.
• We are ALERT to watch out for suspicious people and vehicles.
• We work together as POSITIVE people to make a difference to the crime situation.
• We are ACTION-ORIENTATED – we do not sit back; we stand up and implement actions to improve safety in our neighbourhood.
• We have GOOD GOVERNANCE – we have a clear structure and sound strategy based on our Constitution to ensure that we achieve our goals.
• We build RELATIONSHIPS with the Police, security companies, businesses and other role-players to mobilise people against crime.
• We believe that crime can be eliminated if the whole COMMUNITY is actively INVOLVED in the fight against crime, we therefore value any inputs and suggestions on crime-related issues.
• We believe in open lines of COMMUNICATION and will therefore use all communications methods to reach out to one another – WhatsApp, phone, email, meetings, personal visits.
• As GOOD law-abiding citizens, we promote the value of CITIZENSHIP and that is the reason why we say no to crime! Prevention – we believe that crime can not only be reduced, but also prevented if we can raise our level of awareness among residents.
• We believe that most types of crimes can be prevented if we practice SAFETY ourselves.
• Our strategy and actions are based on the principle of VISIBILITY, the more visible we are, the lower the crime rate.
• While we do form partnerships with other stakeholders, we believe in taking RESPONSIBILITY AND OWNERSHIP for safety in our streets. We can outsource security to reaction companies, but safety is our own responsibility. This is our neighbourhood; we have to accept ownership for our own safety.

Responsible initiatives are initiatives that are legal and equitable, transparent and inclusive and open to all interested members of the UPPER OAKDALE NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH community.