PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Their name might spark images of an 80s action adventure television series, but a group of Plettenberg Bay crime fighters, known as the A-Team, are far removed from the popular small screen characters.

As the response team of Plett.Watch – a community based neighbourhood watch group – they are no soldiers of fortune, but are motivated by their passion to protect the town they call home. They respond to locals’ calls for assistance on their own time and with their own resources.

And since establishing Plett.Watch in several areas within Bitou earlier this year – their involvement in the community has grown beyond responding to suspicious characters lingering in neighbourhoods and burglary attempts. They go wherever they are needed which have included medical emergencies and even animal rescue attempts in recent months.

And their efforts are also paying off. Plettenberg Bay police station commander Colonel Nolan Michaels confirmed this week that in the areas where Plett.Watch was active there had “definitely been a significant impact on crime and general safety”.

“Having more eyes and ears in our community, is a great help to us [the police]. We also meet with representatives of the watch groups every week to share information,” Michaels said.

Plettenberg Bay Crime Prevention Association (PBCPA) chairman Bruce Richardson agreed and said crime statistics in general were down directly due to the efforts by the various crime fighting authorities working together.

Wesley Andrew Plett.Watch said the aim of the group was to work closely with the police, the PBCPA and municipal law enforcement to work towards creating a safer and crime free town.

“The support has grown tremendously from when we started with only about 15 to 20 residents keeping their eyes and ears open for suspicious behaviour. Today we have more than 400 residents involved,” Andrew said.

He added that these residents were in contact with each other and the A-Team via WhatsApp chat groups. Each neighbourhood has its own chat group through which residents can report any suspicious individuals or criminal activities.

If there is any situation of concern, the A-Team will respond to lend support until the official law enforcement agencies arrive on the scene.

Each member of the A-Team has undergone training to ensure they respond appropriately to any situation.

Over and above the chat groups and the response team, Plett.Watch also has members patrolling the streets of Plett to keep an eye out for any potential criminal activity and make an effort to educate residents on security and safety.

“These patrols are also well organised and we sign in at the police station before every patrol,” Andrew said.

“Our goal is to achieve a situation in Plett in which every resident of the town is involved in some way in the neighborhood watch, is educated on and knows how to conduct their affairs and order their lives to avoid becoming a victim of crime, is observant and conscious of what is going on around them and in the event of there being an observation or incident of concern knows how to react to react to the situation, who to contact to seek assistance and so on.”

Richardson said the Plett’s efforts were an example of a “supreme form of crime control”. “Where you have a community who is alert and when there is a concern knows who to contact, how to contact and how to react,” Richardson said.

Bitou councillor Wayne Craig said the cooperation between the police, the municipality, local law enforcement, Plett.Watch and the PBCPA was among the best in the country. “We have open honest meetings helping each other fight crime,” Craig said.

Andrew said while Plett.Watch had grown, they were still in need of residents to assist with patrols to lessen the burden on those currently undertaking these duties.

“For those willing to patrol, we will provide some basic training and tips. Our soul mission is to purely be extra ears and eyes in our community an to report anything that might seem slightly suspicious to authorities.”