SAPS members in Gauteng have welcomed the distribution of “key rings with zing” to community members. The Memeza Project, under the auspices of Gauteng Community Safety, has in the past month distributed 10 000 of these small personal alarm devices to disadvantaged women and children in Soshanguve and parts of Johannesburg. This crime prevention initiative has to all accounts been welcomed by local SAPS members as a means to help empower the community in the ongoing effort to enhance personal safety, because effective crime prevention measures obviously mean fewer crime scenes for the police to attend.
The small alarm resembles a key ring and is manufactured in a variety of bright colours. It can be attached to a handbag, schoolbag or gym bag or even worn as an accessory around the neck. The alarm makes a piercing sound of 140 decibels when the lanyard is pulled.
“The deafening, irritating sound is bound to scare a potential attacker or rapist away while alerting neighbours or passers-by,” said Thuli Mthethwa, the Memeza Women Empowerment project director who developed the key ring after an attack on a family in their home in Tembisa. Ms Mthethwa has been quoted in local media as stating that criminals are more afraid of crime prevention measures at community level, than of prosecution measures at state level. “Studies show that criminals are more afraid of burglar alarms than the threat of a lengthy prison sentence,” she said.
At the official launch on 6 May 2014, Gauteng Community Safety MEC Faith Mazibuko once again stressed the importance of combating violence against women and children, saying that although crime affects all of us, the high number of violent crimes against women and children is of great concern. “If you teach a woman, you teach a nation, and through this innovation, we hope to see women feel safer. We also hope that people will not abuse the device,” she said.
Police stations’ liaison officers can contact the Memeza Women Empowerment Project at 011 312 4076 or 084 845 7948.
Visual material and information provided by the Memeza Women Empowerment Project