LCA security meeting...In a school hall in Linden.

      

 Back on my trusty steed again

In this particular case...

I attended both of these meetings,

held to inform our suburb about security issues.


I had been told that previous meetings were notoriously under attended,
with that in mind, I expected to walk into the school hall and find five people.
Therefore I was most surprised to discover an almost full venue on Tuesday night.

The opening and closing on both evenings
 was done by Elma Smit, who is currently handling the
Social Media portfolio of the LCA.


The recently elected chairperson of the LCA,
Estee Jamieson.
She is VERY passionate about our suburb.
I think that the turn out on BOTH evenings was testimony
to her dedication and drive.
That being said, the feedback that I got from chatting to people there
was that the event could have been better publicised.


Our ward councellor, Bruce Herbert.
He was only at the Tuesday meeting and was not there as part of the LCA.
He was not asked any questions during the presentations,
although he might have been over a cup of tea at the end of the meeting


On Tuesday night Henry from the
Blairgowrie Community Association
shared the story of how their suburb had fought crime
and were winning.
Linden, we can do it as well!


LCA Security committee member Neels Claasen
presented a well thought out security plan for the suburb.
There WILL be detractors and "nay-sayers",
but as he said on Thursday night,
"It is time to stop the fragmentation and work together"...


and Pieter van de Linde.
He explained how cameras can help to pick up trends
and counteract crime.


Representing SAPS and the Linden Police Station,
Captain Vermaak...
A great sense of humour, but with a serious side as well.
He mentioned that one of the easiest ways to thwart crime
is to get to know your neighbours.
This model works in the "townships" and squatter camps,
but in the more "affluent" suburbs, we put up walls
and do not interact with anyone.


Wrapping up...Elma Smit
reinforces what had been discussed on
Tuesday and Thursday evening.
Now WE have to take the reins and help make our suburb safe again.
PLEASE DO NOT believe that crime cannot happen to YOU.


This was the crowd on Thursday evening.
Word had obviously spread, but personally I would like to have seen
standing room only...
there are 2200 homes in our suburb.
Over the two nights, there were about 450 people present.
Do the math...the 80/20 rule will apply.
And the complaints WILL come from the 80% who did NOT attend.
I therefore ask those who attended, if you neighbours did not,
go and chat to them and explain why their participation is SO important
to the overall safety of our wonderful suburb


Once again, Captain Vermaak entertained
and at the same time made us aware of the past and current crime stats.
A sobering way to end off the week.
As all of the speakers said,
It is now up to the "citizens" of Linden to make this initiative work.


Like the event on Tuesday, the Q&A "session" was delayed
until the end of the meeting.
There seemed to be a LOT of interest generated...
now to convert that to actual deeds.
COME ON LINDEN...
YES WE CAN!
If you want to become involved with the LCA,
contact them on:
www.lindenjhb@gmail.com
www.lindenjhb.co.za
Facebook: We Love Linden
Twitter: @Linden_LCA

 
These are the two PROACTIVE security companies
that the LCA are endorsing.
They cannot force you to change from your existing
security provider, but the less fragmentation of security we have,
the safer our suburb will be.
On a personal note, we have just converted to one of these companies,
and the service over the last few months has be exemplary.
Should you wish to find out more about what each compamy offers,
visit their respective websites:
www.csstactical.co.za
or
www.cortac.co.za

For either of these companies to operate at peak effiency,
we need fibre in our neighbourhood!
How do we achieve that?


We get FTTH using Vumatel.
Currently Linden is 5th in line to get FTTH,
we need 600 homes to express interest before Vumatel will start laying cable.
Help make this happen...
Use this link to express interest in getting one of their options.
DO IT NOW!
https://vumatel.servicezones.net/Zone/Overview?zone=62c8ff1c-a57a-4ae1-80d0-a38800c5057b

  

And that is all I have to say...

Until the next time.

Night patrol with CSS and the SAPS

      

 Back on my trusty steed again
In this particular case
not so much a flesh and blood steed
but in a patrol car

This was where my evening started off.
At the Parkview Police Station.
Bathed in a soft blue light, it seemed to be rather welcoming...
unless you were being brought in via the back door in handcuffs.
PLEASE NOTE: I am not making any judgement calls in this posting.
I am merely writing on MY experience on the night.
Nothing more, nothing less...

They may look like a "rag tag" bunch,
but this mixture of security company personnel and reservists are a dedicated bunch.
Although all of the security companies are "invited" only three were represented.
CSS, 24/7 and ADT

Captain Jonathan Micheletti led the raids for the evening.
The briefing was done by a serving member of SAPS,
Captain Mkhize.
He thanked all the participants and was clear
and what they were to be on the look out for.
It was probably the coldest night in Johannesburg,
and standing around was not helping.
The men wanted to get out onto the streets.
Listen to some of the briefing here:
http://podcast77612.podomatic.com/entry/2015-06-04T08_31_48-07_00

Old school handcuffs...
as it turned out they were not going to be required

Ready for action...
The thugs that pervade our neighbourhoods
can shoot if they want to without fear of the consequence.
Police on the other hand, have to account for every bullet fired.
Level playing fields?
I don't think so.
What the "good guys" DO have are fire-crackers...
And I saw these used to good effect to flush out vagrants from overgrown areas.
In fact, the noise is so effective that when I returned home and checked Facebook,
there were several mentions of shots being heard in the area.
That particular part of the evening netted three guys who were sleeping
 in the veld near the Pirates Club in Greenside.

My "office" for the evening.
The back of the CSS Strike vehicle

Etienne and Chris are both area managers for CSS Tactical,
and they were my hosts for the evening.
We have recently signed up with CSS and Chis is our area manager.

Kitted up for the evening,
bullet proof vest et al.
I chose the lighter of the two vests offered to me.
I was informed that this would stop a handgun round.
The heavier one is capable of  withstanding a bullet from an AK47.
Personally, I did not want to field test either.

Most of the evening centered around the Westcliff area.
I did not realize just how many abandoned buildings
there are in this upmarket suburb.
This is the first one that we entered...fortunately
(or unfortunately,depending on your point of view)
there was no one found loitering on the premises.
The view from the house is spectacular,
so it begs the question,
"Why has it been left to rot"?
This is what I had to say:...
http://podcast77612.podomatic.com/entry/2015-06-04T08_36_52-07_00

Our second point of call was just around the corner...

We bumped into this lady who explained that she had been robbed
just a few days ago. And not for the first time.
The police were given access to an adjoining property,
which was the point of intrusion for the robber
The caretakers sleeping on the property
seemed to be glad to have the police paying a visit.

Part of the CSIR building just off Barry Hertzog Ave.
Here we found two guys sleeping,
but they did have permission,
so they were questioned and allowed to get back to sleep

The Braamfointen Spruit flows alongside the road.
Filthy dirty and full of rubbish.
It is also deeper than it looks
I was told that a SAPS member, while on a similar raid,
had drowned in this area a few months ago

And our first arrests of the evening!
The officers from 24/7 found three guys sleeping under a bridge.
Yes, there was a lot of shouting and noise from the officers,
but no physical violence.
There was a sort of resignation on the part of the guys who were arrested.
It seemed as though they have been through this before.
They were not given an opportunity to take all their possessions with them,
for obvious reasons,
My hope is that when they are released and return,
their goods will still be there

Just in case, but not required...

I was told that the majority of these "vagrants"
work nearby, but because they get paid so little
they cannot afford to return to either Alex or Soweto.
In the case of one of these three, he had come all the way from Villiers
in the Free State to look for work.
Later at the Pirates Club, one of the arrestees
said that he earns R750.00  a week working on a building site.
As a result he cannot afford the taxi fare to and from his home in Soweto
on a daily basis. Hence, we found him sleeping rough.
Beggars often get more than R150.00 per day.

A visible presence...
Radio chatter:
http://podcast77612.podomatic.com/entry/2015-06-04T08_38_35-07_00

The final part of the evening...
Leaving yet ANOTHER abandoned building just off Jan Smuts Ave.
The Captain knew the back story to this one
and it seems to be mired in a trust dispute.

Just before I was dropped at home,
Chris and Etienne stopped to chat to this chap,
leaning against a lamp post in Linden.
Turns out he was very drunk and the slight incline that he had to "climb"
was taking its toll...
He was not impressed about being questioned,
but all ended with smiles.
Etienne mentioned to me that the fellow could easily become a target
himself...luckily he did not have to far to go to reach home.

This piece of Urban Art says it all...
The SAPS reservists together with the local security companies
are trying to be "Bringers of justice"...
But the battle is a hard one and given our justice system.
the odds are in favour of the thugs that freely roam our streets.
The six guys arrested were going to spend the night
 in the Parkview police cells.
After breakfast and a court appearance would probably be released.
The evening left me with mixed feelings.
I, like most tax paying South Africans, want my suburb to be safe.
But, when you find workers sleeping rough,
you have to admire the fact that they are trying to make a better life.
Will CEO's sleeping on a street for a night raise awareness?
Personally I don't think so.
I do want to doff my proverbial hat
 to the men that I went on patrol with last night.
Many thanks for trying to make my corner of Johannesburg
a safer place to live.
If you currently signed up to a security company,
get to know the guards and let them get to know you.
Makes for a better relationship.

  

And that is all I have to say...

Until the next time.

Dov Fedler...the man and his book

      
A horse of a different colour...

 Back on my trusty steed again but this time it is a positive"rant" 

Dov holding BOOK NUMBER 1!
Hot off the presses.
30 years in the making, so a BIG moment.
A note to potential readers...
This is NOT a book of cartoons, but a book about a cartoonist.
(There is only one cartoon in the book)


Sunset from the balcony of the hotel where we enjoyed
"An Evening with Dov Fedler"...


I am certain that Dov will need to rest his hand tomorrow...
Not only did he sign the book,
but his "poster boy" was included.


Well know South African folk duo,
Des and Dawn, who feature in the book.


The editor of the Saturday Star, Cecelia Russel
was tasked with opening the evenings proceedings.
(Editor of the Star, Kevin Ritchie was out of town
and therefore not able to attend)


"Hello...and welcome to an evening with Dov Fedler"...


I believe that Dov taught Richard Nixon to do this...
Or perhaps it was the other way around?


Carolyn, my wife (and Dov's eldest daughter) listens to her dad.


There were a few "serious" moments...
but not many.


THIS is the face that we all know and love...


Dov's sister Rae and her son Ian.


My mom-in-law, Dorrine.


LISTEN...


Debbie, Dov's long standing business partner.


This was the general response of the audience...
Dov has a rather wicked sense of humour and it comes across in the book
as well as in his presentation.


Dov, together with Tracey McDonald (his publisher)
and long time friend and mentor David Williams.
A wonderful evening enjoyed by all who attended.

Listen to some of Dov's interviews...

Dov with Sue Grant-Marshall  on  Radio Today

http://books75460.podomatic.com/entry/2015-02-19T02_14_51-08_00

Have a look at the video that was shot at his house.

http://www.polity.org.za/article/out-of-line-a-memoir-2015-02-19

Listen to the interview with Gareth Cliff.

http://iono.fm/e/140580

This barber's chair is almost a character in the book.
It currently has pride of place in our house.
The book is available at most leading bookstores
or...
You can purchase online:

 http://www.amazon.com/Out.../dp/B00SVEJH9C/ref=sr_1_1...

Read the guest posting that he wrote: 

http://batspeaking.blogspot.com/2015/01/a-guest-posting-by-dov-fedler.html