BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – Mpolonjeni residents have proven that community watch is undoubtedly one of the oldest and most well-known crime prevention programs in history.
In line with the spirit of curbing crime during the festive season, the residents have formed a community watch group, consisting of 12 men and one police officer. The aim of the community watch is to be on the lookout for crime around the area.
When speaking to the leader and founder of the group Simon Magagula said they had, in the past, experienced a high rate of crime in the area especially during the festive season.
“The aim of this group is to promote education for residents of a community to have a safe and secure neighbourhood. In general, when criminal activity is suspected, members are encouraged to report to authorities, and not to intervene. Community watch programs strive to promote awareness and efficiency when acting on suspicious activity,” he said.
According to the internet, a neighbourhood or community watch program is an organised group of citizens devoted to crime-prevention within a community. Members of a given community agree together to keep an eye on one another’s properties, patrolling the street and reporting suspicious incidents to the police.
The Neighbourhood Watch is community crime prevention program that was launched by the National Sheriffs’ Association in 1972 to encourage citizens to look out for each other, work on neighbourhood problems, and make themselves safer.
Mpolonjeni indvuna Sabelo Hadzebe said the programme by the residents came at the right time for the community because they were in need of activities that might help fight crime. He said almost all crime prevention programmes include some form of community outreach or educational component that tries to develop positive interactions between the police and the many community groups that comprise the neighbourhood to lower crime.
“Neighbours must remember to keep their eyes open. No matter how many police patrols go through a community each day, no one knows their own neighbourhood better than the people who live there. Community watch program members will take turns watching a street or designated area of the community. Upon noticing suspicious activity or an emergency, the group will contact the authorities or emergency services to mitigate the issue,” he said.
In addition to that he said sometimes, community watch members will create the illusion of occupancy for members of the community who are out of town. This includes removing newspaper from outside neighbors’ homes when they are away, mowing the lawn, and filling up trash cans.
“Depending on the scope of the program, watch associations can do everything from encouraging homeowners to get security systems, conduct security inspections, and upgrade locks, security hardware and lighting to organizing contact lists for quick neighbourhood alerts.
“Watch groups also ward off potential criminal activity by keeping the neighbourhood well-marked with watch signs and stickers on homes the kinds of things that make thieves think twice,” said Hadzebe.
According to a study done by The Crime Prevention Research Review, most areas associated with a neighbourhood watch pointed to lower levels of crime.
The study further revealed that it has been argued that visible surveillance might reduce crime because of its deterrent effect on the perceptions and decision-making of potential offenders. Offenders may notice the spike in community surveillance, and in turn decide not to strike or possibly target a different area.
Mpolonjeni community members said they were happy about the community watch group and it made them feel safer especially because it was the festive season, where crime activities tend to sky rocket.
Others areas in Eswatini which have adopted the neighbourhood watch system is Spintex and Goje Township- they are both in Ezulwini.
In the outskirt, the communities use the community policing system to keep them safe.
