1. What is the DRA?
The Dawncliffe Residents Association (DRA) is a voluntary group of residents from the area of Dawncliffe in Westville bounded by Lancaster Road in the north and Maryvale Road in the east. The DRA was first established in 2004 after a group of residents became alarmed at the escalating crime rate within the suburb, and decided to do something about it.
Apart from an initial focus on security, the DRA also acts on behalf of all residents to promote good neighbourliness and a safe and secure environment. This includes coordinating interaction with the Ethekwini Municipality on community issues, and identifying projects which could enhance the quality of life in the neighbourhood as a whole.
We are offering a new service to members in the form of our website - this is not a security issue, but is aimed at serving community issues and interests.
2. Security issues
The primary concern of the DRA was to reduce the incidence of crime by implementing a road access control scheme, entailing the erection of seven guard huts at the entry points to the DRA area (see map). Similar schemes in other areas nearby had shown spectacular effectiveness in reducing crime. This was borne out in the first year of the DRA's own scheme: crime fell from a total of 60 incidents (including armed robberies, hijackings and housebreakings) in 2004 to 7 minor incidents in 2005 – a drop of 90%. As of 2008, there have been more crime incidents in our area, but the stats still fall far short of non-hutted areas in Westville.
A basic precept of security is to remove any potential threat as far from your person or property as possible – i.e. to expand the safe perimeter around you to include as large an area as possible. Installing beams and alarm systems in and around your house, while effective, is really no more than a last line of defence – you would prefer any intruders to stay completely away from your property.
Beams and alarms are aimed more at protecting your property than your person (you do not want to be around when your last line of defence is violated!) and they also do not protect you from the moment you move past your gate. You are thus vulnerable to being hijacked as you drive in or out of your home (these incidents are on the increase as home security systems improve), or to being mugged/molested/run down whenever you or your kids walk, cycle or play in the streets.
There is no question that the guard hut scheme has introduced such a safe perimeter to the whole neighbourhood. So much so, in fact, that the SAPS Community Policing representative has warned people within guarded areas about becoming complacent and leaving their homes unlocked or open and alarms switched off! While that last line of defence is still important, this is a clear demonstration of the peace of mind that is induced by the presence of the huts. The increase in the numbers of residents walking and kids playing in the streets since the huts were introduced has been noticeable.
For those that distrust crime statistics, the effectiveness of road access control schemes is clearly demonstrated by the willingness of the major armed response security companies, as well as insurance companies, to give substantial discounts to contributing residents. Coming from hard-headed enterprises whose core business is the curtailment of crime and management of risk, there can be no better proof that these schemes do work.
While the guards are prevented by legislation from doing much more than taking note of vehicles and pedestrians moving in and out of the suburb, the mere fact that there are vigilant eyes on the roads 24 hours a day, with armed response security backup via radio communication, acts as a powerful deterrent to would-be wrongdoers.
A resident has donated a CCTV camera to the DRA and this has been installed at one of the huts. We would like to put in more cameras, and take other measures to improve security, but for this we need more funding.
3. How does it work?
The access control scheme is funded by contributions from participating residents. An initial joining fee of R200 is payable – this goes towards the purchase of the huts. The monthly fee charged just covers the running costs of the scheme, i.e. the guards' wages and hut maintenance. Pensioners enjoy a reduced contribution.
The guards are provided by COIN Security, who have a contract with the DRA to provide the required services at cost.
Since every resident benefits directly from the scheme (whether they acknowledge it or not!), it would be ideal if every household contributed towards it. This would allow the cost per household to be minimised. Unfortunately, some residents can't or won't contribute, which means that the costs have to be distributed amongst those that do.
At present, we have only approximately 50% of residents as members of the DRA - 256 households out of 522. We need more members in order to raise the funds necessary to implement further security measures.
As the DRA we passionately believe that we can reclaim our streets and provide a service to all residents in our area. All our services and associations are voluntary: our only plea to you as our neighbour is that you actively support the hut scheme so vital to all of our security.
4. The numbers
| Monthly running cost per hut | R9,545.11 |
| Number of huts | 7 |
| Households within DRA | 523 |
| Contributors | 256 |
| Monthly contribution | R390.05 (incl VAT) |
| Pensioner rate | R195.03 |
| Monthly contribution if all residents participated | R120 |
| Armed response & monitoring (no DRA contribution) - any company | R285 to R400 |
Armed response & monitoring (ARM) (as a DRA contributor): | |
| COIN | R153.90 |
| Chubb | R |
| ADT | R |
| Others (Blue; Knight; Guard; etc) | No discount |
What price your personal safety, peace of mind and quality of life in our garden suburb?
If you would like to find out more or just contact us, please e-mail us at info@dawncliffe.com