Preparations are underway for a highly anticipated Awareness Day set to take place on Saturday, 23 August, at Parkhill Secondary School.
The event, hosted by the Greenwood Park Community Police Forum (CPF) Sub-forum Two, in partnership with KwaZulu-Natal Community Safety and Liaison and the South African Police Service (SAPS), will feature various law enforcement and firefighter displays, live entertainment, and food stalls.
GWP CPF Sub-forum Two chairperson, Danusha Makan-Maharaj, described the event as a tool to educate residents about safety, crime prevention, and the role each community member can play in reducing crime. She said: “It also provides opportunities for residents to connect with law enforcement, community leaders, and one another through interactive displays, live demonstrations, and family friendly activities.”
She added that the idea for this event came from the CPF’s ongoing mission to strengthen relationships between the community and law enforcement. “We wanted to create an engaging and informative platform where residents can learn more about safety measures, meet the people working to protect them, and understand how to get involved in building a safer neighbourhood.” The Awareness Day will also aim to build trust and cooperation between law enforcement, the CPF, and the public, and to encourage community involvement in safety initiatives.
Law enforcement displays will be conducted by companies such as Tracker Connect, Fidelity Service Group ADT, Mace Safety Solutions, Shield Private Security, Swift Private Security, Marshall Security, and Blue Security.
Marshall Security community support, Andreas Mathios, said they hope to unite the community and bring them closer to the relationship the security company is trying to build with the local police services. “It is very important that we grow the CPF. The only way to fight crime in South Africa is through Unity. We cannot have apathetic residents living amongst us in our communities. These security companies will help to facilitate safety measures within the environment of the community they serve, as well as being able to position the SAPS at the centre of all this,” explained Mathios. He added that they will be aiming to raise awareness about how the CPF helps SAPS to achieve their targets of reducing crime.
Both Mathios and Makan-Maharaj stated that this event is not only for Greenwood Park residents but for everyone to attend, and they believe the success of it will be measured by the attendance.
