Held at the Kingsgate Fellowship, Table View

COMMUNITY POLICE FORUM (CPF) Sector 3

Minutes of Public Meeting held at the Kingsgate Fellowship, Table View 18.7.2013

IMPORTANT CONTACT NUMBERS:

SECTOR 3 POLICE VAN : 082 417 4506 / 079-894 1456 SAPS : WO Prins / 079- 894 1454 CPF – Sector 3 Chairperson : Trevor Nisbet / 076-093 9828 CPF Chairman : Andrew Brace / 083-306 2254 NW – Sector 3 Captain : Derick Sinden / 082-371 2428 CPF Website : www.cpftableview.co.za CPF Facebook page : CPF Table View

PRESENT: See Attendance Register on file APOLOGIES: Andrew Brace Arnold du Preez Cindy & Tyrone Stopford Rod & Marietjie Ruster Chris Potgieter

MINUTES ACTION

1. WELCOME & THANKS: 1.1. Trevor Nisbet, Table View CPF Sector 3 Chairperson, opened Trevor Nisbet the meeting and welcomed all those present. He also welcomed Bernadette Kent and Ricardo Josephs of TLC Outreach Projects, the Guest Speakers of the evening. He thanked Arthur Vos and the Kingsgate Fellowship, for enabling the CPF Sector 3 to hold its public meeting at this venue.

2. ATTENDANCE & APOLOGIES: 2.1. The attendance register was completed and apologies noted. Trevor Nisbet/ Delia Pfenninger 2.2. Trevor requested everyone present to check that their contact details are correct in the register. He explained that correct contact details are important to enable good communication with Sector 3 residents.

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 1 3. CONFIRMATION OF PREVIOUS MINUTES: 3.1. Minutes of the 13.6.2013 Bambanani were tabled as read. Trevor Nisbet 3.2. Minutes of this meeting will be posted on the TVCPF website.

4. STREET COMMITTEES: 4.1. Rene Butzer, the CPF Sector 3 Street Committees Coordinator, Rene Butzer / was happy to announce that the street committees in our sector Trevor Nisbet are growing by leaps and bounds.

4.2. Starting a Street Committee in your street is simple. Simply knock on your neighbours’ doors - the best time to do so is between 7-8pm – and explain the concept of a street committee to them.

4.3. Get your neighbours’ contact details: names, addresses and contact details. Put this information on an Excel list and send it to the Street Committee Coordinator. In this way all the neighbours will be included in shared information of current alerts, crime statistics and other points of interest in the community.

4.4. Organise monthly Street Committee meetings to discuss issues and concerns relating to your particular street. Invite a representative from SAPS and NW to address your meetings and to form a relationship with the individual residents.

4.5. Trevor added that in order to fight crime and take back our streets, we must get to know and interact with our neighbours. As neighbours, we must stand together and make a difference in our community.

4.6. By getting involved in Street Committees, residents take back their own streets, keep a wary eye out for potential criminals and look out for their neighbours.

4.7. Neighbours can also mobilise themselves by addressing issues that are specific to their needs, such as joining in initiatives to put pressure on the City for improved services.

4.8. Trevor made it clear that a resident does not have to be a member of the local Neighbourhood Watch to start or be part of a Street Committee. However, it would be beneficial if at least one person in a Street Committee has a Neighbourhood Watch membership and therefore access to a Neighbourhood Watch radio and the potential mobilisation of NW support it can generate.

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 2 4.9. Trevor also announced that August is Street Committee month in Sector 3. On Saturday, 24.8.2013, Sector 3 will be holding a Rene Butzer / Trevor Nisbet Street Committee Summit; venue still to be advised. Drop by, meet your neighbours and join your street committee. If your street does not have a street committee yet, then simply start one yourself. At the Street Committee Summit you will be given all the guidance you need.

4.10. Any queries and requests for support on street committees can be directed to Rene Butzer at: 082-224-4191 or [email protected]

5. TRAFFIC, LIGHTING, PARKS & OPEN SPACES: 5.1. Alex Lepnik, the Table View CPF Sector 3 Vice-Chairperson, stated that in our area there are ongoing issues with street Alex Lepnik lighting, the state of parks and open spaces, as well as traffic.

5.2. Alex urged all residents who have any complaints or service delivery requests to the City of Cape Town, to channel them through the same access point, so that cumulatively we can have the most impact possible and positive response from the City.

5.3. With the assistance of Johan van den Berg, Chairperson of the Table View Ratepayers’ Association, Alex demonstrated to those present how to log service requests – dubbed C3 Service Requests – to the City of Cape Town.

5.4. It is possible to log C3 Service Requests directly on the City of Cape Town website. However, the City does not allow its residents to monitor the progress of service delivery requests that are logged on its website.

5.5. Because of this situation, Alex advised everyone to access the Table View Ratepayers’ Association’s website: http://www.tableviewratepayers.org.za either directly or by link via the CPF website. There you can log a C3 Service Request to the City of Cape Town’s link found there. In this way the Table View Ratepayer’s Association can closely monitor the progress of service delivery in our area.

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 3 5.6. Alex explained that the process of logging a C3 Service Request is simple. Alex Lepnik - Merely choose what service you need. - Choose the complaint you wish to log. - Give details. - Submit. - You will receive a reference number.

5.7. Alex stressed that separate issues, even when appearing in the same context, should be logged as separate service delivery complaints.

5.8. Anyone can also access the service request tracking system on the Table View Ratepayers’ Association’s website for an overview of results.

5.9. Alex urged all residents to attend the CPF and Ratepayers’ Association’s public meetings and get involved in community initiatives.

5.10. Trevor agreed, saying that the power of the collective is stronger than the power of one. The CPF forms the link between all the stakeholders – the community to SAPS and vica versa – and the links between the community and the Neighbourhood Watch, as well as local NGOs, Forums and Associations such as the Table View Ratepayers’ Association.

6. NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH FEEDBACK: 6.1. Derick Sinden, Table View Sector 3 NW Captain, thanked the Derick Sinden SAPS for its ongoing support in our community.

6.2. Derick declared that we as a community will not allow decay and disorder to take over our streets.

6.3. Derick urged everyone in the community to become part of the solution. Look out for your neighbours; join the NW and build your own Street Committees.

6.4. Derick stressed that the NW is grateful for any level of input from residents. If you see anything suspicious phone NW for support.

6.5. Derick reminded us that the local newspapers are full of reports of Neighbourhood Watch’s recent successes in helping SAPS apprehend criminals.

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 4 6.6. Derick insisted that the Neighbourhood Watch is not a group of ‘vigilantes’. Every member of the Neighbourhood Watch gets police clearance before joining and must adhere to the strict Code of Conduct for Neighbourhood Watches and regulations of Derick Sinden the Western Cape Provincial Constitution. At the moment Table View NW has 700 police cleared members of which 70 are from Sector 3.

6.7. Anyone interested in getting more information about the Table View Neighbourhood Watch is welcome to join them at their patrol room at the Parkland’s Police Station any Monday evening at 7pm for an introduction.

6.8. Contact NW on www.tvnw.co.za. Neighbourhood Watch emergency number: 084-383-1814

7. SAPS REPORT: 7.1. WO Prins, SAPS Table View Sector 3 Commander, tabled the crime stats for the previous month for Sector 3. WO Prins 7.2. Crime stats show that there has been a welcome decrease of 35% residential burglaries in Sector 3 this last month. WO Prins attributed this to the support that SAPS has received from the local Neighbourhood Watch. He reiterated that the Neighbourhood Watch is not there to do SAPS work for them, but merely to give them support.

7.3. WO Prins asked that all residents get involved in their Street Committees and the Neighbourhood Watch. This will help SAPS make our area a safer place for all to live in.

7.4. A number of members of the audience raised questions regarding the illegal line-up of taxis on the corner of Blaauwberg Road and Raats Drive that causes a major blockage to traffic in the area, as well as the informal stall that has been set up there.

7.5. To the suggestion that these taxis should be impounded, WO Prins informed the audience that SAPS may only impound taxis in the case of drunk driving or a homicide having been committed. Taxis may not be impounded for merely stopping at the side of a street to pick up passengers.

7.6. As to the informal stall at that corner, Trevor said the seller has

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 5 a permit for the stall. However, once again, members of the community have the opportunity of complaining about the situation by logging a complaint to the City of Cape Town on the WO Prins / Ratepayers’ Association’s website. Trevor Nisbet

7.7. To the suggestion that surveillance cameras be erected, Trevor informed the audience that both the Traffic Department as well as My City have cameras, but do not readily share the footage unless specifically subpoenad by SAPS. Suggestions for cameras at the entrances to Table View had recently been made, but issues surrounding the funding of the ongoing monitoring and maintenance of this project have not been resolved.

7.8. Trevor suggested that complaints regarding the taxis stopping at the corner of Blaauwberg Road and Raats Drive could also be directed to ‘Safely Home’ that can be accessed on the CPF website.

7.4. Sector 3 Patrol Vehicle Numbers: 079-894-1456 082-417-4506

8. GUEST SPEAKERS: 8.1. Bernadette Kent, Social Worker, and Ricardo Josephs, Field Worker, both with TLC Outreach Projects, were the Guest Bernadette Kent / Speakers. Ricardo Josephs

8.2. The TLC, started by Colleen Pietersen, is a community outreach centre that has been working in our community these last seventeen years. During this time TLC has evolved as Colleen tried various formats, and it has now reached the point where its main focus is on the recently established Youth House in Table View. However, TLC still supports around 180 vulnerable families in the area in an effort to keeping them from also landing on the streets. They also support around 360 vulnerable persons.

8.3. The TLC has recently been honoured for its work with the receipt of the Appreciation Award from the City of Cape Town’s Social Development and Early Childhood Development Directorate.

8.4. The TLC runs its centre at the Table View SAPS which is now used as an assessment centre and a place for early childhood development.

8.5. Bernadette is at this venue every morning 9am until 12noon,

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 6 Monday–Thursday to assess any displaced person who wishes to come off the streets. Any resident / Neighbourhood Watch member who is confronted with someone living on the streets, but wanting help to leave, should direct him/her to the TLC Bernadette Kent / assessment centre at Table View SAPS at the above times. Ricardo Josephs

8.6. The TLC Youth House is not a short-term shelter – normally a place that shelters a homeless person for the night only – but a long-term programme to rehabilitate the displaced people who land up on our streets. The average time for a resident to stay at the Youth House is eight to twelve months. There is no cost for the residents. There is place for thirty residents; at the moment there are seventeen residents.

8.7. Practically all the displaced persons who become residents of the Youth House are addicted to drugs /alcohol. The very first step is to detox them. This is done at the Youth House.

8.8. HOUSE RULES: - All drugs / alcohol forbidden (regular testing done) - Strict self-discipline is expected at all levels - A Christian spiritual journey is expected

8.8 SUPPORT: - All the residents are supported in raising their self-worth - All of them are taken to the dentist to fix their teeth and get dentures - All of them are helped in getting an ID, setting up a CV and opening a bank account (their finances are strictly supervised) - They are supported in presenting themselves in a positive light by dressing in decent clothing. - They get computer training & mechanical training (There’s an old car on the property that a mechanic is helping the young men fix up). - They are helped to do internships and find work locally.

8.9. AND THEN ? The work done with each individual resident is viewed as a long-term project. When the residents have found their feet and stability, they are encouraged to reach out and try to mend rifts with their families. They are supported by TLC in moving into independent living accommodation within their original communities.

8.10. Ricardo Josephs introduced himself. He had been a local displaced person, who went through the process of

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 7 rehabilitation with TLC and is now proudly TLC’s Field Worker. He knows the local street-life from personal experience and Bernadette Kent / knows all the people still out there. He is perfectly based to Ricardo Josephs encourage displaced people to leave the streets and to take the help that is offered to them by TLC.

8.11. A question from the audience was posed about what to do if you are confronted with people living on the street who have their children with them.

8.12. Bernadette answered that parents expecting their children to live on the street constitutes child neglect and requires immediate action. - The onus is on you to take immediate action. - At no time physically remove the child/children yourself as you may face charges of abduction. - Immediately report the matter to SAPS. They are obliged to react. - SAPS will contact Social Services, which is then obliged to fetch the child/children and remove them to a place of safety. - It is for SAPS to contact Social Services – not you.

8.12. FUNDING: The TLC receives funding from the City of Cape Town’s Social Development for the rent of the Youth House. Other than that, TLC is dependent on public donations for its survival.

8.13. Trevor added his voice, reminding everyone that here is the perfect opportunity to ‘Give Responsibly’. Instead of handing beggars small change at traffic lights or leaving recyclable waste products in your bins, donate that money to TLC.

8.14. Contact TLC at tlcprojects.org.za or [email protected]

9. NEW BUSINESS / GENERAL: 9.13. Trevor thanked Bernadette and Ricardo for their informative presentation of the valuable work that TLC does in our community. He also congratulated Ricardo and the Youth House residents (both in the hall and on video) who shared their Trevor Nisbet stories and views, for their great courage in embarking on their personal journeys of rehabilitation.

10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING:

Thursday, 18.7.2013 Page 8 The next TVCPF Sector 3 meeting will take place on Thursday, 15 August 2013 at 19h00. Venue: Kingsgate Fellowship, Athens Road, Table View. ALL 11. DATE OF STREET COMMITTEE SUMMIT: Table View CPF Sector 3 is holding its Street Committee Summit on Saturday, 24 August 2013, 11am – 1pm. Venue still to be advised.

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