Scores of neighbourhood watch members came to complain about their lack of equipment to Police Minister Senzo Mchunu during a crime summit in August 2024. (Photo: Deon Ferreira) 
On 12 September 2023, Councillor Gustav Rautenbach filed a motion at the Nelson Mandela Bay metro’s standing committee on safety and security, requesting that a policy be created that would help the municipality capacitate and equip neighbourhood watches.
“Over many years, there has been a plea from neighbourhood watches for municipal support,” he wrote, “which has been rare and ad hoc as no formal system exists to render such support.”
According to documents that form part of the safety and security committee meeting on 31 October 2023, the Metro Police’s acting commissioner Andrew Moses remarked that the functionality rested with the provincial department of community safety and not with the Metro Police.
“It is important that the Metro Police acts within its mandate and not usurp responsibilities of other government departments because funding issues are all audited, and if there are costs that are not within our mandate, it can lead to audit findings of fruitless and wasteful expenditure,” Moses said.
Ten months later, in August 2024, when Police Minister Senzo Mchunu held a summit for the victims of crime in Nelson Mandela Bay, scores of neighbourhood watch members arrived to ask for help with equipment and training. Some were using paraffin lanterns to light their patrols.
To motivate the adoption of a neighbourhood watch policy in the metro, an academic paper was commissioned and funded by the DA to support the proposal. This paper was unanimously accepted by all committee members in 2023.
The decisions taken at this meeting were that a workshop would be called within two months; that the acting Metro Police commissioner be mandated to manage the process relating to the neighbourhood watches and draft a support policy; and that the standing committee would monitor progress in this regard.
‘No progress or feedback’
But, Rautenbach continued in his motion, there had since been “no progress or feedback to the Safety and Security Committee”.
“Political oversight is impossible,” he wrote, “and the non-response to the safety and security committee’s resolutions borders on poor accountability, consequence management and execution. It is no wonder that crime has besieged the metro with seemingly no or very little constructive counter crime efforts,” he wrote.
“The silence from the Metro Police could be interpreted to seek reasons not to support the neighbourhood watches study,” he continued in the motion. The committee seemed to have “lost interest”.
“This is not uncommon as the committee has numerous outstanding items and resolutions which seemingly are uncaringly forgotten,” he wrote.
He said while the legislation regulating the Metro Police was silent on neighbourhood watches, this did not mean that a support policy would be illegal, as these groups could play a vital role in crime prevention.
On 30 June 2025, Rautenbach filed the motion again. In this motion, he said the value of neighbourhood watches had been recognised several times by various organisations and the municipality itself.
As a strategic partner in the fight against crime, Rautenbach said, neighbourhood watches could not be ignored.
Last week, Judge Nolubabalo Cengani-Mbakaza, sentencing several convicted farm attackers, stressed the value of community structures, stating: “Our country will not be labelled as a crime scene due to criminal actions as long as our justice system and community work effectively together, as seen in this case.”
Association of neighbourhood watches
The Eastern Cape Association of Neighbourhood Watches consists of 16 neighbourhood watches operating within Nelson Mandela Bay and the surrounding region.
These included the outskirts of the metro, from Colchester to the Van Stadens Gorge, as well as everything in between, such as Lorraine, Walmer, Sunridge and others.
Despite no monetary contributions from the city or private business, chairperson Peter Grahams said they did what they could to equip members with the necessary resources and training.
“We do not operate private security firms, so by law we are not allowed to charge any membership fees from residents.
“The best we can do is host fundraisers, like a boerie roll braai every now and then, that goes towards equipment and training for our members.”
He said there had been countless attempts at trying to ensure that Nelson Mandela Bay establish by-laws to govern neighbourhood watches, similar to the by-laws in Cape Town and other metros, which would include guidelines for funding, but plans and promises never yielded results.
“Everywhere we operate, we have good working relationships with the police, Metro Police, community policing forums and private security. They all see the value of having more eyes and ears on the ground. But it seems all efforts to formalise neighbourhood watches hit a snag at council level.”
Grahams said their volunteers were expected to use their own vehicles and fuel, buy their own high-visibility bibs and jackets, and equip themselves with torches and pepper spray – all things that could be funded and would make a big difference in crime prevention operations.
Training
“The [Eastern Cape Association of Neighbourhood Watches] tries to provide training as often as possible, and in the past we have assisted our members with courses in first aid, firefighting, traffic control, crime scene preservation and even law enforcement, like when a citizen’s arrest is allowed.
“But once again, that has to be sponsored, or it comes out of our own pockets,” he said.
Because of their numbers and proximity to incidents happening nearby, Graham said neighbourhood watch members were often the first responders to motor vehicle accidents or crime scenes.
“These are the kinds of situations where high-visibility clothing, traffic cones and first aid training are crucial, and training becomes invaluable.”
On top of being limited by a lack of funding, Graham said local neighbourhood watches were not even afforded the same privileges as similar organisations in other cities.
The use of flashing green lights on patrol vehicles is one example.
Grahams said that in the past, their green lights helped with crime prevention as they deterred criminals and helped to identify patrollers as neighbourhood watch members.
“Now, we just get late-night messages about ‘suspicious vehicles’ driving slowly through the suburbs, and we have to explain to residents that it’s the neighbourhood watch patrollers,” Graham said.
He said specialised by-laws would not make it easier for them to secure certain basic equipment, but it could help them to gain certain basic privileges to play a more active role in the city’s safety and security.
‘Alleged concerns noted’
Nelson Mandela Bay metro spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the metro “notes the alleged concerns” raised by Rautenbach regarding the development of a neighbourhood watch policy.
“We wish to clarify that the municipality has established internal processes that guide policy development, of which a neighbourhood watch draft policy is in progress. All new policies are processed through the Policy Sub-Directorate in line with approved governance frameworks. These processes are designed to ensure that all policies are well-researched, consultative, and compliant with legislative requirements.
“The municipality is not aware of any deliberate or unintentional ‘stonewalling’ of any policy proposal. We remain committed to working with all councillors, stakeholders, and communities in the development and adoption of policies that enhance safety and service delivery,” he said.
But Rautenbach responded that this if this was so, why had no one received progress reports from the metro’s standing committee on safety and security? DM