NEWS NEWS
GOOD
24
31 January 2017
CPF helps to keep Stanford safe
As a catalyst of social cohesion, sport has an immense role to play in society and thanks to an amazing forging of wills and a commonly-held goal, the Kleinmond-based Overstrand Titans Softball Club was officially established on 1 December 2016.
Nelly Roodt
S
tanford Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Willem Maclean is a humble man with a sense of purpose. His ambition is to keep Stanford the safe place it has always been – despite a few problems. “Stanford has always boasted a low crime rate, although there have been spikes in crime here and there. And residents can rest assured that our latest station commander, Captain Winston Coetzee, is leaving no stone unturned in his efforts to change the negative to a positive.” The CPF executive is right behind Capt Coetzee. They are partners in a valiant battle, promoting co-operation between the community and the local police. Maclean (53), father of four – the youngest is an adopted son who attends a private school – has been steering the CPF since 2011. His parents could not afford to send him to high school and after finishing primary school he went to work with his father, who was a builder. From then on he toiled hard, physically and mentally, to become a man of standing in the community. Today he is a foreman on a wine farm in the area, has his own part-time fencing business and spends
Softball for Kleinmond
CPF Chairperson Willem Maclean inspecting the SAPS Stanford Community Service Centre. With him is Sgt Anele Sigwili. PHOTO: Nellie Roodt
In little over a month, the club has grown its membership base substantially – from an initial seven to close on 50 members at present. In addition, two softball events have also been hosted as part of its launch activities: a Slow-Pitch tournament on 16 December, followed by a Step-up-to-the-Plate function on 7 January.
many hours at the drawing board strategising for a safer Stanford.
On both occasions, Overstrand businesses have stepped up to the plate in remarkable fashion.
When the neighbourhood watch was established in 2008 he joined because he had just bought his first bakkie and could actively take part in duties assigned.
At the 2016 closing meeting of the Stanford CPF, the Stanford Police Station’s crime statistics for the 2014/2015 period ending November 2015 and the corresponding 2015/2016 period ending November 2016 were made available.
What he saw while patrolling during the dark nights and wee hours of the morning made him more intent on helping the community.
Extremely proud of the decrease in crime in certain crime categories in 2016 compared with 2015, the crime-fighting co-ordinator does not deny that all is not hunky dory all the time.
“At 3 am I would see 5-yearolds roaming the street. I got to do with juvenile rapists and domestic violence too awful to talk about. And I knew that to live at peace with myself I would have to help where I could.”
First the good news: There was an overall decrease in contact crimes (murder, assault and robbery). Likewise there was a decrease in motor vehicle theft and theft from motor vehicles. General theft also decreased.
The bad news is that drugs remain a problem. “It is not an easy task to apprehend the high-flyers,” he explains. “We also have parolees from the Department of Correctional Service in the village. Fortunately they all know that they are being monitored with an eagle eye day and night.” There are 15 police stations in the SAPS Overberg cluster, of which Stanford is one. According to Maclean, Stanford is rated as one of the best functioning stations in terms of the crime statistics. “The thin blue line is evident on every street in the village. That explains the station’s successes.”
Generous sponsorships and donations of goodwill were provided, as well as support from various sporting structures in the Cape and Overberg; all of which have allowed the club to showcase its efforts to best effect. More astoundingly, where this venture was initially aimed at the youth, parents, guardians and other interested parties have also now come on board. Primarily, the goal is to roll out the model and establish clubs of similar ilk in other towns across the Overstrand. A longer term view is to form an Overstrand softball league under whose auspices these clubs will function. Another goal is to secure a principal sponsor or funding to ensure the structures envisaged become viable and operate effectively.
Hermanus XI to face Lloyd’s Holly Bellingham-Turner and Simon Turner will be hosting both teams and members of NSRI Station 17 at a function on Sumaridge Wine Estate.
In February, Lloyd’s of London will be enjoying a 10-day cricket tour of South Africa, organised by Andrew Russell of Cape Africa Tours – now a resident of Hermanus. The Lloyd’s team will be enjoying 3 days in Hermanus and on Sunday 11 February starting at 11:00, will be playing a match against Hermanus Cricket Club.
This will serve as a fund-raising and thank-you event for the NSRI team in Hermanus for whom Holly and Simon have raised considerable funds over the years.
The public are welcome to come and support both teams at what promises to be an exciting international cricket match. On Saturday evening,
The evening will culminate in the naming of the new NSRI boat, Maritimus – named after the Sumaridge flagship white blend.