Online presence help with the fight against crime

The importance of WhatsApp groups have never been as evident among community members in the fight against crime as now.

The latest crime fighting tool in the Muldersdrift community is WhatsApp groups which help spread news quickly and keep every person informed of community developments.

Spokesperson of Muldersdrift Communication Action Group (MCAG) Mike Francisco said the online communication between residents proved to be a great addition to existing structures.

“The proactive relationship between the community and the SAPS has led to a number of excellent leads resulting in the apprehension, arrest and sentencing of gangs operating in the area. The WhatsApp groups allow community members to share information quickly and to upload videos and photos. Because we get regular alerts on our cellphones, the group is a reminder for us to always remain vigilant and to assist each other whenever we can.”

Constant communication between blockwatch forums and regular meetings with police members and private security companies. WhatsApp groups are becoming a useful way of communicating across several communities in South Africa. Francisco added, the success of any group depends on the etiquette of its members.

• Each group has a group administrator. Only group administrators have the ability to add participants.
• Avoid sharing irrelevant information or inappropriate images in a group.
• Don’t have one-on-one conversations in the group – rather start a private chat if you need to.
• If you choose to leave a group, inform the members before you do so. Simply quitting the group can appear rude.
• WhatsApp has a mute option. If you find that you are getting too many notifications, you can choose to mute chats for eight hours, a day or a week.
• WhatsApp automatically backs up your chats, but if you would like to do it manually you can do so by clicking on the menu button and following the prompts in the ‘Settings’ option.
• Create a shortcut for the group, so that it’s easily located on the home screen of your cellphone. To do this, go into WhatsApp, long click on the name of the group and a menu will pop up.
• It is possible to email yourself (or anyone) a copy of the chat. Click the menu button and select the email option.

Social media can be used to spread information quickly and it works even better in the fight against crime. This way, community members can feel empowered and be a part of a committed and focused group that is gaining great results in ensuring the safety of the people.