Guardians protect Claremont revellers

Cape police are probing the possibility that a syndicate is tailing young drunk women as they leave Claremont clubs.

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Cape Town - Men working undercover are infiltrating clubs in Claremont to keep an eye on party-goers as part of a security plan aimed at ensuring the safety of young revellers.

 This comes as police investigate the possibility that a syndicate, or several different groups, are tailing young drunk women as they leave clubs in the area with a view to pickpocketing them.

 Police, the Claremont Improvement District Company and the management of some clubs are involved in the heightened security initiative.

About five former club-goers now involved in the security industry have also formed a group, which they have named Clubwatch Protection Services Claremont, to monitor mainly young women.

They blend in with club-goers and if anyone harasses the women, members of the group – all men – alert the bouncers.

 They also let police or improvement district members know about any suspicious activity they encounter.

 “Our mandate is very strict. There can be a fight, we won’t get involved. Some shady deal can be going on, we still won’t get involved,” the founder of the protection service, who asked to be identified only as Jared, told Weekend Argus.

Members of the service did not do the work of bouncers or police officers, he stressed.

Weekend Argus visited the hub of clubs along the Main Road in Claremont late on Wednesday, where scores of youngsters were seen walking between venues.

 At times a homeless man walked after some to beg for money and they were tailed by taxi drivers offering lifts.

 Improvement District members rode around the stretch on bicycles and others in a van.

At one point two young women were escorted to their car, parked in a dark alleyway, by an improvement district member on a bicycle.

Men could also be seen shining torches into cars parked in dark side streets to check that everything was in order.

The heightened security operations follow the assault of 18-year-old Sanet de Lange.

De Lange said she was attacked early on July 10 after leaving the Claremont nightclub Tiger Tiger.

She woke up bloodied in hospital with little recollection of what had happened to her.

Police and private investigator Jack Brice, hired by De Lange’s family, are trying to piece together what happened to her.

This week Jared said he was shocked when he read about what had happened to De Lange and this had prompted him to form the informal security operation in a bid to prevent other young women club-goers from falling victim to crime.

 About two months ago he and two friends decided to patrol around the clubs, including the dark parking areas.

Two more friends later joined the patrols.

Jared said they were all involved in the security industry and had previously partied at clubs in Claremont, so were familiar with the area.

 “A lot of the stuff we deal with is like a much older guy in a club harassing females,” he said.

Late on Wednesday, a group of taxi drivers parked near the clubs in Claremont, watching as youngsters exited, admitted that pickpockets were a problem in the area.

But they said this was probably the same for other prominent party stretches elsewhere in the city.

 “It’s easy when the girls are drunk because they don’t notice anything’s stolen from them,” one said.

This week, police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Andrè Traut said officers were looking into whether pickpocketing syndicates were operating in the area.

“There is no evidence to substantiate the existence of a particular syndicate targeting club-goers; however, police have not ruled out the possibility and will investigate all avenues,” he said.

Police knew about Clubwatch Protection Services Claremont, who Traut said had offered “to provide additional security to club-goers, especially young females who fall prey to opportunistic criminals”.

 Officers welcomed the group’s help. 

“We believe that the involvement of community partnership is part of… a more effective approach to crime prevention…

“We support all initiatives to fight crime, on condition that such initiatives are conducted within the framework of the law,” Traut said.

Weekend Argus