On Friday, 21 June, patrollers from various organisations converged at the intersection of Gordon Road with 5th Avenue in Bergbron, for a mass standoff.
The standoff, organised by the AfriForum Buurtwag and other Community Policing Forum (CPF) organisations, was conducted in an effort to promote visibility around the area.
Everything was started off with a short prayer, to ask for protection and guidance, which was followed by a raffle, with the winners receiving vouchers, among other things.
One of the organisers, Fanie Naudé, who is the Chairperson of AfriForum, spoke to the Record and explained the purpose of the mass standoff.
“What we are doing here is basically getting together as each and every unit around the whole of Roodepoort. We meet each other and work together.
Our main aim is to control crime and we have to work together for us to eradicate crime in all our areas. We want people to know that we are here. Every month we go to a different place – Bergbron tonight, Florida next month, and so on,” said Naudé.
The organisations were then divided into three groups, with each group promoting visibility in various places which are said to be crime hot spots in the area.
A representative from the Bergbron CPF, Ashleigh Gordon, said she joined five years ago because she believes in making a change in the community. “I joined because I wanted to make a difference and bring about change in my area. I want to get more people out here to realise that we are not just neighbours, we need to work together to keep everyone safe. People need to realise that we are just getting together as a community, patrolling and showing ourselves to the criminals. Our aim is to get the criminals out of our community,” she added.
