Hi, Yes David told me when I collected his radio for the evening patrol and than James talked about this "cluster operation" over the radio.
Thought it concerned the ONW evening car patrol to which I had committed myself already. I once manned a road block in Station Road during May 2007, with Inspector Redelinghuys. I did not really enjoy this exercise and personally feel that this goes beyond the ideals of ONW and is really police work. Frank 2009/5/5 Helen Swart <[email protected]> > I WAS NOT AWARE OF THIS OPERATION WAS ANYBODY ELSE. > > H > > ----- Original Message ----- > *From:* Gill Gimberg <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] ; Woodstock SAPS <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Tuesday, May 05, 2009 9:28 AM > *Subject:* [obsnw] Joint SAPS operation - Friday 17th April > > I was privileged to be invited to attend a police operation consisting of > four separate road blocks spread out over the suburbs of CapeTown. > Regrettably I was the only person present from any of the Neighborhood Watch > areas, and this disappointment was expressed by Comm. van der Riel. > > SAPS officers from Pinelands and Maitland sectors were involved in this > combined operation, as well as representatives of Metro Police, which took > the form of road blocks aimed at offenses such as drunken driving, vehicle > roadworthiness and traffic violations, illegal arms and possession of drugs. > On stand-by were sniffer dogs from drugs and explosives detection units, > which could be called in if required. > > Station Commander van der Riel of Woodstock was in overall charge of > approximately 50 officers. The evening started off with a briefing meeting > held at the Woodstock Police Station, at which the people were split into > groups and given details of their duties and the limits that would apply for > the operation. > > The first road block was set up near the new stadium in Green Point and, as > the night was still young, proved to be relatively quiet, but served as a > good practice run to set up the lane-narrowing beacons, speed reduction > signs and lighting. > > As mentioned before, the duty team consisted of personnel from various > stations that had not previously worked together, so this first stop was a > good opportunity for them to co-operate and co-ordinate their activities. > > All the signage, lighting, spare flash lights etc. are carried in a > specially designed trailer, which also includes a petrol driven generator to > provide the necessary electricity. > > Another piece of electronic wizardry that I found interesting was a > portable finger print reader that was linked not only to a national data > bank, but also to Interpol. Within minutes of taking a reading, this device > would inform the operator as to whether a reading was positive or negative. > > During the course of the evening, three or four wanted criminals were > detained and taken to a charge office for further processing. > > I was amazed at the number of people driving vehicles whose number plates > and licence disks didn’t match. “Really officer? But you see this is my boy > friend’s / husband’s / father’s car, and I didn’t know.” > > Also high on the list were drivers who didn’t have their licences with > them, and who came out with a plethora of age-old excuses, which of course > didn’t cut any ice with the police. > > All summonses and fines relating to vehicles or traffic offences were > issued by Metro Police, hence their presence. The rest was dealt with by the > SAPS. > > The highlight (for want of a better word) of the evening for me was the > arrest of a man who was carrying 6 knives on him; the blade lengths ranged > from 5cm to 22cm. Apart from the smallest one, these were all tucked into > the waistband of his trousers. How he managed to sit in a car without > gutting himself remains a mystery to me. > > Interestingly, he also carried a standard table fork, and I couldn’t help > but think that at least he wouldn’t have any difficulty in making a cutlery > choice when it came to the left hand side of his dinner plate. > > Generally the police were courteous, but it was interesting to note how > quickly they were able to detect whether a harsher attitude was required. > > At around 2.30 a.m. I was relieved to be driven home, leaving the police, > many of whom had already been on duty since 6 a.m. the previous morning, to > do one more road block. > > I strongly urge anyone to come and have their eyes opened on an evening > like this, should the opportunity present itself again. It gives a > tremendous insight into what goes into an operation of this nature, not to > mention the nonsense that the police have to put up with during the course > of their work. > Rob Gimberg > > > ------------------------------ > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG. > Version: 7.5.524 / Virus Database: 270.12.11/2089 - Release Date: 4/30/2009 > 5:53 PM > > > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
