A Well Regulated Militia

Some people make use of their free time after work to procrastinate over the work situation however our major contributor "The sarge", tends to brainstorm random crime and safety concerns and manages to present his thoughts as very readable and often provocative narratives that catch peoples attention. What follows is one of those narratives that is in my opinion well worth reading.

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"The United States is far from perfect. Even some of their most brainwashed citizens will agree to that. Their Founding Fathers had the right idea though. A free and democratic society that was rid of colonial oppression, taxes and someone on the other side of the ocean deciding what is good for you. The British, up until the 1780’s had pretty much run the country (well, the eastern 13 colonies) by means of a professional and sometimes ruthless army. Once the United States ended the war with a win in October 1781 and the Brits abandoned any

Hostage Incident at the Westville Hospital

On 15 May the Sarge will give a report back on the hostage taking event that took place at the Westville Hospital.  It is hoped that a video being prepared by Andreas Mathios from University of KZN  will also be shown.

The venue is: Westville Methodist Church
Time: During the early part of the meeting that starts at 18h00
Address: Cnr. Church Place and Church Road - opposite SPAR
This Westville CPF meeting is open to the public

The Battle of Westville Hospital 2012

On Friday 27 April at approx. 07:30, a black male entered Westville Hospital reception. He had taken a taxi from Hammersdale to get there, and according to family members had suffering from bi-polar disorder for several years. Why they allowed him to still be in possession of a licenced firearm is still to be established.

 At the reception the suspect demanded to see a particular doctor and without much delay became enraged and drew his firearm, a 9mm calibre handgun. He fired several shots and then ran up the stairs towards the first floor and “A” Ward. The alarm was raised and the SAPS and Metro Police responded to what was reported as an armed robbery. When several vehicles arrived, including the Westville Crime Prevention and Metro Dog Units, they heard more shots from inside the hospital. By this time a security guard and a sister had been shot and wounded. Ironically they were in the best and worst place to be shot, a hospital, and received treatment straight away.

 The suspect had retreated to the kitchen area, there he shot and wounded one of the staff members and held her hostage. By now the general alarm had been raised and the place was in a severe state of panic. The area was cordoned off and no one got in or out the Hospital without fifteen degrees of clearance. Hostage negotiators arrived and were to spend five hours attempting to secure the safe release of the last hostage and the peaceful surrender of the suspect.

The elite SAPS Special Task Force arrived in short time. These highly trained police Special Forces are skilled in the apprehension of highly dangerous suspects and fugitives. They were to be the last resort.

Outside, press and families of patients gathered, awaiting information regarding the wellbeing of those inside. Social Media was flying in all directions. A paramedic I was talking to told me that on Blackberry, he and his team were apparently being held hostage. The more accurate information that was spread, the more sensational and inaccurate was returned. It seemed, if you logged on to the internet, that people who were nowhere to be seen had the best knowledge of what was going on.

At one point I gathered family and visitors round and made them write down their names, the name and ward number of the patient they were visiting and a short message. This I gave back to the hospital staff. One lady tried to get me to deliver flowers but I politely refused. A visibly upset gentleman told me that a loved one was on her death bed inside and he had been locked out when the situation took place. I determined that the ward was nowhere near the action and smuggled him in to be with his family at that emotional time.

 After nearly six hours, negotiations with the gunman had failed. He allegedly was becoming more and more emotionally unstable and refused to release his hostage despite her needing urgent medical attention. An executive decision was taken, not lightly, and a police marksman ended the siege. A representative of the Independent Complaints Directorate visited and inspected the scene shortly after it unfolded and ruled the police action justifiable.

A case of attempted murder and an inquest docket were opened and will be investigated by the Westville SAPS detectives. The Westville Community Police Forum project, Safetynet, was summoned to assist with trauma counselling on the scene. One patient in particular was identified as needing an extra bit of support and the members attending spent some time with him, helping him cope with the incident. He had actually been an unwitting hero as a member of hospital staff, pursued by the suspect, had sought refuge in his room. He concealed her until the Police escorted them to safety.

 My opinion was that the result was a success. We have heard in the news of shootings and rampages in foreign countries at schools and colleges where dozens of civilians and even children have been killed. This was not the case here as the suspect was contained quickly and effectively and damage was limited to what had occurred before the Police arrived on the scene. After the Police had taken control, no more injuries to innocents occurred.

The Institute of Security Studies article on increased police numbers.

Institute of Security Studies Today: The 2012 South African Budget Reveals Big Shifts in Police Personnel
04 Apr 2012
by Crimehub

Gareth Newham and Lizette Lancaster, Head: Crime and Justice & Manager: Crime and Justice Hub, ISS Pretoria

Does hiring more police officers result in less crime? Or does more crime result in more police officers? The reasoning behind the first statement has guided South African policy makers for the past decade. The consequence of our policy choice has been the second. With falling crime rates following years of mass police recruitment, the government is likely to believe that its approach has been successful. While policing can have an impact on some crimes, international experiences of mass police recruitment have typically resulted in

Greener grass?

I conducted an interesting exercise. What I was looking for wasn’t actually what I found. My intention was to compare our crime to another place in the world that has similar demographics and populations and see what they were faced with.

Deliberately I decided to steer away from an Australian or New Zealand city.

By chance I came across West Vancouver in British Colombia, Canada. It is on a coast and has a population of approximately 16 000 households. This is comparable to Westville as their household averages at 2.9 people. Ours is closer to 4. So, our 7000 households multiplies out at a similar number. The average annual household income is $120 000 which is nearly double the state average of $63 000. The area is 96% residential and 4% commercial which is pretty close to us.

Westville has several factors which make it unique compared to almost any other policing area in the country that I know of. We have three freeways, a university, two large shopping centres and a prison. The occupants of these are not counted as residents.

So what was West Vancouver’s crime like recently, and is it safer living there than here?
The first number is West Vancouver, the second Westville. These figures are taken from the stats on their official police site. The time period is from 24 March to date.

Housebreaking: 28 64
Theft of motor vehicle: 6 7
Theft from motor vehicle: 34 14
Other theft: 55 32
Assault: 40 4
Domestic violence: 52 0
There were no stats of home invasions/house robbery.

These figures are quite interesting. In what appears to be an upper class residential area, 40 cases of assault and 55 of domestic violence. To me that raises huge questions as to community norms and family values. Sure they seem earn a lot of money, but would you like to live among them?

The high incidence of general theft and theft out of motor vehicle could mean any number of things: juvenile delinquency, drug addiction, carelessness of complainants. I don’t know how many shopping centres they have, but a large amount of all our theft comes from car parks, and petty theft out of handbags. For them to have 28 cases of housebreaking (we have 2.2 times more) may even seem excessive. That indicates an average of one per day, in a first world, “safe” country!

We definitely have our problems, and trying to disguise our crime rate as anything else would be a fruitless and insulting exercise. I have worked in an area where the predominant crime is Domestic Violence and drug abuse. One of the worst scenes for a policeman to attend is when a woman has been severely assaulted. I prayed for a few housebreakings to break the day’s cycle.

If one had to say, they wanted to move home, I certainly would not choose a place that has 40 assaults in a twenty day period. Besides, we can defend our homes better. We can become stronger communities and interact more to combat that threat. At least the threat isn’t coming from inside your own home.

Kids in conflict with the law

He is eleven years old. He likes Lego, video games, paintball guns and just about anything else a snapper his age likes. I watch him draw in a scribble book. He is working on a graphic. He has a letter “S” which he has learned to stylise and draw in 3D. “What do you think about graffiti?” I ask as a completely open ended question. He pauses, looks at me, blinks and says, “I don’t believe its right to deface other people’s property.”

Thirty years ago, I don’t think I knew what the word “deface” meant. But the anecdote is true. I smiled and nodded as a surrogate uncle should, but inwardly I was highly impressed with the maturity and sense of consideration shown in this young man. Sadly, he is not the norm. It appears more popular and cool among young people to

How smart are the organised crime syndicates in choosing where and when to ply their trade?

November and December 2011 were months that had a significant increase in household burglaries and break-ins experienced in Westville and through the grapevine it seems to have been a trend in many of the suburban precincts.

The cause may may have had a common denominator. Several sources suggest that the event COP 17 may have been a significant indirect cause. The event in itself is said to be a success as a well organised boost to Durban though at what cost.  Most if not all Policing precincts were instructed to provide both vehicles and personnel to boost the task team entrusted with security around that event.

It seems that the crime rate increased during this period due to the depleted resources.  The question to be asked is not whether we should endeavour to protect the delegates but rather where is the logic in ensuring these visitors suffered no reported crimes whilst many residents in the greater Durban area experienced a significant burden.

I don't know the answers though I am sure that a little strategic planning that shows concern for all the stakeholders may have provided a better solution.

Involve the Defence Force? Fulfil the posts for Reservists?

Not wishing to degrade the COP 17 as an event it disturbs me as to the number of delegates whose carbon footprints cost the Earth more damage than the results seemed to provide any sustainable benefits.  How many tonnes of Carbon Dioxide was pumped into the atmosphere from the jets that transported the delegates.

One neglected aspect may have been to have submissions and feedback made via electronic communications.

Please think it through and submit comment. You may remain anonymous if that is your choice.

What is the role of the Institute of Security Studies? - 04 April 2012

In 1991 Dr. Jakkie Cilliers and P. B. Mertz formed the Institute for Defence Policy as a research institute with a key focus on the defence transformation process in South Africa. The Institute’s key focus area during this time was to introduce concepts of constitutional control and professionalism in the South African Armed Forces. The Institute started with humble beginnings in a small office in Midrand, South Africa, however, between 1991 and 1996, the growth and focus of the Institute increased from a South African Defence focus to

The Modern Primitives

Quite a while ago, a caveman later known as Gawk Orenburg, had a brilliant idea. He was getting sick of using his teeth to tear the skin of a slain brontosaurus. (Yes I KNOW) Further, the fat collecting under his fingernails caused an awful stench, no matter how he tried to scrape it out with the pointy end of a thorn. The same thorn he later used to scratch his ear. His eyes fell on a splinter of dried bone. The same splinter in fact, that he had stepped on quite painfully that morning. The difference between the bone and the thorn was the bone had a sharp edge, not just a point. He picked it up and found that it was much better for digging in his ear than the thorn was, further it scraped fat off the brontosaurus skin better than his fingers did. Gawk had in fact,

What is our reality?

A bonus of house sitting for close friends is that I get to peruse the DSTV channels. I know a lot of people honk about the repeats, but since I don’t watch enough to see repeats I enjoy it all the same. On Saturday I caught a very interesting program on BBC Knowledge. Interesting for two reasons. First, the topic interested me and that I was pondering the exact subject a few days before.

If, while reading this, you discover you have seen the program, I pray you stick it out to the end to not only relive the fascinating subject, but to read my views and perhaps stimulate some of your own.

The question was posed, “Is seeing, believing?” Several really brainy people gave their answers which ranged from