Background of Area | Project Overview | Community Meeting | The Way Forward | ALL MULTIMEDIA

The streets of Oatlands North, Somerset Heights and Currie Park are fairly peaceful and deserted. School traffic flows around Graeme College at intervals and dog-walkers emerge in the early evening. Swing sets and trampolines rest in the gardens of wealthier family homes while a few housing complexes line the boundaries of the area. 

Despite being free from the severe contact crimes which affect the poorer areas of Grahamstown residents here have their own worries. Construction sites bring unknown workers into the area. Some residents fear they are being watched and strategically targeted by criminals. Others suspect those walking over Sugar Loaf Hill on a daily basis looking for work and, potentially, opportunities to commit crime.

A constant thoroughfare of people to and from the military base behind Somerset Heights also creates a sense of uneasiness. Everyday residents find that petty crime is committed by opportunists; washing stolen from the line or a bicycle taken from a garden. 

Housebreaking and muggings are common. Many have faced intruders in their own homes several times. Others have been accosted in their cars or just outside their homes in the relative safety of daylight. The community is afraid. They perceive victimisation as inevitable and crime as endemic. Those who do feel safe adopt positive thinking defensively and continue to fortify their homes. A selection of concrete, razor wire, electrified fencing, dogs and Hi-Tech signs are evident at every property.

These are the homes of Grahamstown’s middle-class citizens, they work from 8 ‘til 5 and come home expecting to rest and relax with their spouses and children. Yet they never feel entirely safe and secure. Homes become increasingly fortress-like and a sense of trust and community is lost as residents continue to live in fear.