A Neighbourhood Watch is a voluntary partnership, where people come together to make their communities safer. It involves the Police, relevant departments of Local Authorities, Private Companies, Non-Government Organisations and above all, individuals and families, who want to make their neighbourhood a better place to live.
It aims to help people protect themselves and their properties and to reduce the fear of crime by means of improved home security, greater vigilance, accurate reporting of suspicious incidents to the Police, and by fostering a community spirit.
A Neighbourhood Watch aims to maintain and, where possible, improve the quality of life for members. As such its ambit can include not just the safety of persons and property, but also other matters affecting the quality of life in the area, including such aspects as fires, vagrants, garbage, noise pollution, building operations, medical emergencies etc.
It is not the function of a Neighbourhood Watch to police such matters, but rather to be a visible presence and watchdog, and to bring any occurring problems speedily to the attention of the Police or other appropriate body for action. As members of the community we have a duty to ourselves and our families firstly and then to our neighbours, to minimise the adverse effects of all such problems arising in our area. A Neighbourhood Watch thus provides a channel through which local communities can play a meaningful role in crime prevention.
There is no doubt that small groups of neighbours (cells) keeping an eye on their environment and neighbours are at the forefront of combating crime and abuse. Watching your neighbours in this context is not “nosiness”, but concern and survival.
The police cannot on their own combat all crime and a Neighbourhood Watch provides a means whereby local residents can assist the local police in carrying out their duties of safeguarding communities against criminal activities and striving to achieve a safe and secure environment. The overall aim is to unify residents in a community in order to achieve an environment which is as crime and nuisance free as possible.
Accordingly, a need was perceived for the protection of the local communities in the Municipal area of Simon’s Town, and this led to the establishment of several local Neighbourhood Watches. In the areas of the Glencairn Valley, Bay View Heights, Scarborough and Misty Cliffs, the majority of these bodies have together recognised the need for a central coordinating body with particular emphasis on liaison with the Police, who are unable to properly service a large number of small Neighbourhood Watches. To fulfill this need, the Greater Glencairn Valley Neighbourhood Watch (GGVNW) was established as a Voluntary Association.
More recently in line with Government policy and the concept of Sector Policing, the Simon’s Town Municipal area has been divided into two Sectors for policing.
Sector 1 comprises the area north of Red Hill Road and Sector 2 the area south of Red Hill Road down to Cape Point. The local communities forming each Sector are as follows:
| Sector 1 | Sector 2 |
| All areas north of Red Hill Road | All areas south of Red Hill Road |
| Bay View Heights, Glencairn, Glencairn Heights (incorporating Glen Ridge and Glen Beach), Glen Marine, Glen Road, Misty Cliffs, Neptune’s Close, Old Glencairn (incorporating Cairnside), Scarborough, and Welcome Glen | Mount Pleasant, Central Simon’s Town, Simon’s Kloof, Harbour Heights, Seaforth & Seaforth Sound, Bellevue, Froggy Farm, and Murdoch Valley North & South |
To accommodate this change, the GGVNW was renamed as the Simon’s Town Community Police Sub Forum (Sector 1). In the more urban areas of Simon’s Town south of Red Hill Road, a similar process is under way and this will be known as the Simon’s Town Community Police Sub Forum (Sector 2).
