COMMUNITY SAFETY

Wherever we work, we hear the stories behind the statistics. Crime and violence are wide-spread, threatening the most vulnerable members of society, affecting community well-being and hampering the development of towns and neighbourhoods. The only way to tackle this challenge, is together.

Communities have a critical role to play in ensuring their safety. We partner with local role players in the safety arena and, most importantly, residents to help raise up communities that can self-organise around a common goal, work together effectively and present a united front against the forces that threaten them. Unity and local buy-in is critical.

Working with local authorities, teams of residents and community safety experts such as MeMeZa, Ranyaka develops safety plans for neighbourhoods that include projects such as:

• Mobilising relevant stakeholders (Community Policing Forums, neighbourhood watch groups, police and ward councillors)

• Mobilising relevant stakeholders (Community Policing Forums, neighbourhood watch groups, police and ward councillors)

• Improving safety through the design (or re-design) of the physical environment

• Identifying crime hot spots through surveys conducted by community members and then selecting the right locations where security systems can be installed

• Providing public project noticeboards where security information can be shared

• Developing response and data management plans so that incidents reported can be reacted upon timeously and data that is captured, can be fed back into the overall programme to improve its effectiveness

• Activating control rooms to respond to alarms

• Installing (through service providers) and distributing safety lights and alarms. We work closely with MeMeZa in this regard.