The City’s Safety and Security Directorate is once again providing an opportunity for the Neighbourhood Watch (NW) fraternity to recognise and give credit to individual members or groups for their hard work and dedication over the past year.

The annual awards is an opportunity for the City of Cape Town to say thank you, and honour accredited NW members who volunteer their time and effort to contribute towards a safer environment in their respective communities.

The awards also acknowledge the important role of NWs between the City's enforcement agencies and the community.

The nomination process opens today, Monday 22 August 2022 and the closing date will be on Thursday, 29 September 2022.

Members of the community can nominate an individual member or an entire NW team in various categories.

There will be six award categories for individual members and four categories for NW teams as listed below:

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS CATEGORIES

NW Member of the Year: a member who upholds, with outstanding achievement, the purpose of safeguarding its members and property.

Organisational Excellence: for excellence in NW management.

• Mobiliser of the Year: for exceptional efforts to mobilise communities in support of safety.

• Inspiration of the Year: a NW leader who has displayed inspirational public leadership, across several NW areas, in support of community safety and the greater public good.

• Crime Fighter of the Year: for exceptional, selfless, professional and committed service, in the fight against crime.

• Courage in Action: in recognition of sustained NW operations in the face of highly compromised community safety, like drug activity or gang violence.

GROUP AWARDS CATEGORIES

• NW Group of the Year: an organisation that upholds, with outstanding achievement, the purpose of safeguarding its members and property against crime and other safety concerns.

• Situational Crime Prevention Award: in recognition of exceptional efforts towards a clean, healthy and safe environment, in which communities can lead dignified lives.

• Social Responsibility Award: in recognition of a deep commitment to addressing mitigating and healing social ills, towards healthier, inclusive and united communities.

• Courage in Action Group Award: in recognition of sustained NW operations in the face of highly compromised community safety.

Nominations can only be made for a NW member or teams that are accredited with the Western Cape Department of Community Safety, or who have formally submitted their application for accreditation.

'Our Neighbourhood Watches play an extremely important role in amplifying the City of Cape Town's crime prevention efforts. The annual awards is an excellent opportunity to nominate those members who are playing an integral part in making a difference in their communities. The City will continue to support our Neighbourwood Watches by providing equipment, training and advice. These volunteers are ambassadors for safety and often lead by example by sacrificing their free time to patrol the streets in their community,' said the City's Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

Source: City Of Cape Town