DPV Neighbourhood Watch

27/07/2026

27/07/2026

DPVWATCH | Vredehoek CID Information Series

Over the next few days, DPVWATCH will be sharing a series of posts to help residents better understand the proposed Vredehoek CID.

As your neighbourhood watch, we support initiatives that strengthen safety, security and service delivery within our community. We also believe that informed residents make the best decisions.

Our role is not to tell residents how to vote, but to:
✅ Share factual information
✅ Encourage constructive discussion
✅ Help ensure everyone has the opportunity to understand the proposal before making their own decision

If you have not yet had the opportunity to review the draft Business Plan, we encourage you to do so. If there are any questions, concerns or suggestions, written public comments are open until today, 27 July 2026, before the plan is revised for the next stage of the process.

Thank you for taking the time to stay informed and participate in shaping the future of our community.

https://vredehoekcid.co.za/business-plan

Our Community. Our Voice. Our Safety.

The proposed Vredehoek CID is a five-year plan to fund supplementary public-space services in Vredehoek and Devil’s Peak Estate.

06/07/2026

SUCCESSFUL CRIME-FREE FRIDAY HELD IN CITY BOWL

On Friday 26 June, SAPS, LE, Metro Police, SANParks, Neighbourhood Watches and service providers such as Fidelity ADT and City Bowl Armed Response held a very successful joint operation in the City Bowl. The evening culminated in a combined patrol through the city and its residential areas and featuring these different role players. We look forward to more of these operations in the future. In the photo, the various role players are photographed assembled at SAPS after the initial briefing.

03/07/2026

DPVwatch are looking forward to this joint safety patrol with SANParks and members of TBKWatch tomorrow morning.

03/07/2026

Good morning, All. Many DPVwatch residents contribute to the safety and security of the Devils Peak and Vredehoek communities. Some give of their time to patrol, some respond when others need assistance, some do radio checks, some accompany groups on the mountains, some chop down trees when the storms blow them down, some help stablise trees when the storms try to topple them, some plan fundraising events, some enter the fundraising events or support the DPVwatch's initiatives, some offer of their time and energy to serve on the Exco, some send through incident reports, some search for lost furbabies or report these vulnerable ones when they are spotted, and some make regular donations. You are all greatly appreciated. Thank you!🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

02/07/2026

DPVWATCH - IT’S ALL ABOUT CONSISTENCY!

So many people show up consistently to assist when necessary and DPVwatch thanks one and all for their help and energy. Last Sunday when we were notified about a great deal of rubbish in Highlands Road, one of the DPVwatch active patrollers stepped up and cleaned everything. Thanks, Pierre de Villiers, for your help, not once, but twice that week! In the pics, you can clearly see the rubbish, before and after it was bagged by Pierre.

01/07/2026

THANK YOU TO THE DPVWATCH MEMBERS WHO TAKE THE RADIO CHECKS

There is a group of DPVwatch volunteers who go unheralded and quietly about their business of ensuring the continuity and efficacy of the DPVwatch Radio Network.

Some of these people co-ordinate the twice daily checks, and some are stalwarts who can be relied on to be part of the network.

DPVwatch would like to thank and acknowledge the selfless contributions of the following people who lead the checks: Anthony Silber, Louisa Geary, Jo-Anne Friedlander, Nina Vass, Ulf and Inga Hitzeroth, Oliver Barnett, Frank Ruggerio, Detlef Pohl, Graeme Logie, Erica Brumage, Paul Vorwerk and Harriet Clift.

There are also some residents, part of the radio network, who check in regularly and DPVwatch acknowledges their contribution and thanks them too for their reliability and community spirit.

Christo Steyn and Devon Tangocci are thanked for being so willing to assist when one of the regulars is unable to do a radio check.

Jo-Anne Friedlander had this to say about her involvement with the radio network: “It is a much easier / faster way to share info or help with an incident - especially when communicating with external role players who might not be able to listen to / read messages on their phones.

It means that others get to know voices. In an emergency, the chances of a quick response are greater even if radio holder can't send a clear message, someone else will know a response is needed and will be able to work out where to go.”

Graeme Logie, another long-standing Radio Check Co-ordinator said, “ How I got involved is that I was a very active DPVwatch member patrolling at night and on foot and assisting on the committee by helping with a fund-raising event at the Barnyard theatre. Age has now caught up with me and I cannot patrol at night as I need to sleep 🙈. By doing radio checks you see if your radio is working. However, it appears not many new people are putting their hands up to help especially during the morning checks.”

If you would like to become involved in the DPVwatch radio network, please contact Werner Schulz, the DPVwatch Exco member for radios on [email protected]

30/06/2026

VREDEHOEK WALKERS - HEALTHY, SECURE COMMUNITY-BUILDING - DPVWATCH ACKNOWLEDGES THE INVALUABLE INPUT OF DIANE SECCOMBE

When the DPVwatch Exco suggested acknowledging the valuable contributions of those who form the backbone of the neighbourhood watch, it was easy to identify Di Seccombe who leads many of the walks undertaken by the Vredehoek Walkers, proudly wearing her DPVwatch patrollers’ vest and clutching her radio used to remain in contact with WatchCom, our operations centre.

Di, you are a shining example of a community-spirited resident who goes the extra mile both literally and figuratively. Thank you for co-ordinating the walks as well as leading many of them.

Di had this to say about the Vredehoek Walkers:

“The Vredehoek Walkers group was started around two and a half years ago, and with over 500 members, it is going strong. We are a community group that arose as a means for social walkers to be on the mountain in a group and not to walk alone, given safety concerns.

Membership is free, and walks are arranged each week. We stay local, so cover Deer Park and Devils Peak routes and brave the parallel Table Mountain paths too. We do not walk on Signal Hill or Lions Head.

There is a walk for all fitness levels with the more strenuous routes being reserved for a Saturday or Sunday. We regard these as our weekly adventures and are proud of having summited Devils Peak and Minor Peak.

Mountain safety can never be guaranteed. However, there is little debate that safety is enhanced when we walk in numbers which is what the group is about. Each walker is still encouraged to take any security measures they regard as appropriate for them, for example pepper spray, a whistle etc.

In our busy lives, it’s not always easy to meet and get to know your fellow community members, but the Vredehoek Walkers’ group has proved to be a fantastic way for getting to know new people and reminding ourselves of how truly privileged we are to have access to our magnificent mountain.”

03/06/2026

DPVwatch's Amazing Race Actually was Amazing!

Four teams battled it out for the title of DPVwatch's First Amazing Race Winners! The teams wound their way around the community starting at Eco Park, then up to the Quarry, and ending eventually at Freesia Park. And the team that emerged victorious knew their community and its layout really well. Their beagle, Brava, gamely took part in the race as well, earning the team the nickname Team Beagle amongst the patrollers who were at the various key points.

The other teams were nicknamed Team Jack Russel as they had their doggy with them too. Team Adults Only and Team Baby made up the two other teams who battled it out at various points such as Carlyle's (darts); purchasing goods from Spar and handing them in at Nazareth House to be enjoyed by the folks there with their afternoon tea; yoga with Claudia Gurwitz at Yoga in the Hoek; dancing at Good Hope Seminary Junior School with Jacques Carstens and gardening and weeding with the school's gardener, Joseph; planting and weeding at Streetscapes Garden with Miss T and Uncle Richard as well as searching for hidden signs of DPVwatch; completing a quiz about DPV at Rocklands Park (Do you know what the original historical name for Devils Peak was or when Vredehoek was proclaimed??), and finally enjoying yummified pizzas from Bella Italia at Freesia Park!

To add to the safety of the day, Fidelity Adt and City Bowl Armed Response provided a number of cars and officers to keep an eye on the participants. In addition, CBAR donated the services of their paramedic to DPVwatch for the duration of the race.

The teams carried flags from two estate agents, Remax Living and Rawson. This generous sponsorship not only provided much-needed funds for the DPVwatch camera projects currently being undertaken by the Exco, but also enabled the teams to be extremely visible whilst moving through the community.

Some residents who missed out on this one are already looking forward to the next DPVwatch Amazing Race! Keep watching our social media platforms for details of the next one!