Crime-fighting neigbours get together for potjiekos competition
Group say they have good relationship with the police.
Neighbours who have banded together to keep their neighbourhood safe, held a potjiekos competition on 4 November during which they explained to the Record what they were all about.
They held the competition in a small park on Debonair Avenue in Helderkruin with bragging rights as the first prize. Senior State Advocate Deon van Wyk and DA councillor Suzanne Clarke were the judges.
According to Lee Cowen, one of the original founders of the group that call themselves ‘Nightwatch’, it has an informal structure. The core principle of the group is looking out for each other and knowing each other. Resident volunteers do three patrol shifts a night in the areas surrounding Debonair Avenue and rely on a WhatsApp group for communication. During the day those who work from home keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.
Another member, Jacques Conradie, said people initially saw them as vigilantes, although nothing could be further from the truth, and that they have a good relationship with the police.
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