Lonehill's Tipping Point Reached?

Anyone taking a walk around Lonehill this last Sunday morning would have got the feeling that the downward spiral of 'mis-management and disarray' as identified by 'new' LRA Chairman - Rob Gillespie - has been broken.

But let me make it clear that not everyone is happy with me offering the LRA a pat on the back, as per this email extract:

'Hi Trevor, I read your latest “Like Chalk and Cheese” email with interest and on the one hand I want to agree with you but then feel that with bouquets must go the brickbats! We must never again allow the LRA to dictate to the residents! The residents MUST have their say! I thus thank you for this forum but I warn again, “Please keep it open and fair!”

'You must not fall into the same trap again where you “boosted” some individuals to the point where they became demigods, complacent and thought they could never be wrong!'

I understand why the point is made, but how others behave when in positions of 'leadership' is for them to account for as individuals. It just shows how TRUST is the most difficult of attributes to restore, and that has been the 'new' LRA's challenge. S'funny too, because I am also well aware that my comments are a source of intense irritation to some on the LRA. What is it they say about not shooting the messenger.. ;-)

Personal integrity insists that I give voice to my honest opinion - accepted or not - and certainly, my opening remark above was the honest impression that I received from my trundle around our community, with Lonehill beginning to once again look the best that I have seen it in at least two years.

Yes, there were still pockets of sporadic anti-social litter on the ground that could easily be picked up by the guards on the ground (always mystifies me why this appears to be no longer an instruction as used to be), but there was a noticeable lack of posters, boards, graffiti and long grass, telling me that Ian Bell's LRA Environment Team are getting on top of their challenge.

I have also noticed an increased presence of SAP & Metro vehicles, more visible LRA/Fidelity vehicles in prominent positions and an increased show of force by RSS (who clearly signal their intent to subdue and dominate in this area - a major danger to our LRA initiative if not dealt with proactively and strategically to establish common objectives).

I repeat from a previous post: VISIBILITY & Vigilance - No.1 Priority :

'Priority No. 1 Strategy should be simple:
SECURITY ==> VISIBILITY & VIGILANCE ==> FUNDING

'Security is a function of the quality of proactive Visibility & Vigilance of our security force on the ground which in turn is a function of the inflow of funds from local stakeholders and elsewhere.'

Even more noticeable is the renewed enthusiasm of concerned passionate LRA residents whose voluntary inputs were effectively discouraged and sidelined by the silly non-inclusive 'power & control' style of previous management & leadership. It is to their credit that such individuals are bouncing back to share their passion and expertise to fill gaps in the LRA's resource and administration capabilities. Please never allow that style of management to happen again in an OPEN community initiative like Lonehill's!

Is it any coincidence that Lonehill has experienced almost 3 relatively crime-free weeks as compared to areas like Parkview and Douglasdale? I'd like to think not. I believe that it has everything to do with the LRA executive once again becoming effective at what they do. When you're on top of your community security game the 'professional' criminal looks for easier areas to target. The trick then is to maintain high-profile vigilance and visibility to deter the 'opportunistic' criminal.

I have always believed and voiced the opinion, ever since launching this initiative, that Malcolm Gladwell's: The Tipping Point - How Little Things Can Make Big Difference - identifies the key benefits of eradicating the 'Broken Window syndrome' in an open community area such as Lonehill's. In fact, I firmly believe that we have more than proven that the theory applies in Lonehill when one traces the effects of the peaks and valleys of commitment-to-detail applied during the history of our initiative.

This extract from a summary of The Tipping Point provided by http://www.edge.com/ :

'The Broken Window Theory states that a crime is the inevitable result of disorder. If a window is broken, and is left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and a sense of anarchy will spread from that building to the street on which it is located, sending a signal that anything goes. In a city, relatively minor problems, like grafitti, public disorder and aggressive panhandling, are the equivalent of broken windows. They are invitations to more serious crimes. This is the Epidemic Theory of crime, which states that crime is contagious, just as fashion trends are contagious; they can start with a broken window and spread to the entire community.'

'New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who supports the Broken Window theory, began to crack down on graffiti and fare beating in the city's subway system. By stopping these small expressions of disorder, the Mayor changed the context for serious crime in New York City. As a result crime did not taper off and it did not gently decelerate; it jammed on the brakes! Once this was successful, Giuliani went above ground and cracked down on taxi drivers and 'squeegee men' (people who came up to drivers in the New York City intersections and demand money for washing the driver's car windows); crime dropped throughout the city. Stopping minor seemingly insignificant, quality-of-life crimes were the Tipping Points that stopped more violent crimes.'

'The Broken Windows... is based on the premise that an epidemic can be reversed and even tipped by tinkering with the smallest details of the immediate environment, which is, if you think about it, quite a radical idea. It says that the criminal, despite being someone for fundamental, intrinsic reasons and lives in his own world, is actually someone acutely sensitive to his environment. He is one who is alert to all kinds of cues and is prompted to commit crimes based on his perception of the world around him.'

Clearly, there is a psychological impact on the criminal and anti-social element when they sense that a community cares.

Further PROMISE is offered in the latest Lonehill Residents Association email newsletter (btw. very badly laid out in difficult to read copy style, type and colours - get a layout specialist in to fix it up) - 'Operation Communication Launches On Saturday' - where we are enticed by the promise of '..an extremely exciting new marketing campaign for the LRA. The basics have been established, the wheels are in motion and we can hardly wait to reveal our plans! However, all good things come to those who wait, so we are biting our tongues and keeping the secret until the official launch. The campaign will be launched at the next public meeting in the next 6 to 8 weeks…so hold your breath and watch this space!'.

As promising as the above announcement appears I caution against ignoring the inputs of all KEY stakeholders and foisting the ideas of one or two on our community (as happened so disastrously, in my opinion, over the last two years with the lamest of marketing promotions rubber-stamped by the few having wasted our hard-earned community funds) and repeat my closing comments from last week:

'I am still of the opinion that acceptance of an overall strategy will not happen until all KEY stakeholders are invited to a mass indaba to make their opinions felt, to openly indicate their wants and needs, and for the LRA to gain consensus of direction from all stakeholders to get their united commitment. There are far too many stakeholders in our community that are still not aware of what the LRA is doing and vice versa. Everyone needs to get on the same page and work together to make this community great... and the LRA needs to provide that direction.'

'Clearly we have the resources for such an important indaba (i.e. over R1 million of 'unecumbered' capital as stated at the last community feedback meeting), use it wisely to bring all influential and interested stakeholders together to discuss the BIG issues in this community - some as yet still not touched on in this forum to date.'

Regards
Trevor Nel - 011 - 705-2790
Lonehill Resident