Protecting Our Neighbourhood- Part 3

Organizing the patrols around the lives of thirteen people wasn’t as easy as Phil first thought, especially as most of them had real jobs to go to. Furthermore, the eagerness of the first meeting was beginning to fade away as one person dropped out. Two others were adamant that they weren’t going to patrol on weekends, thus adding further complications. Though it took a lot of effort on his part, when the group met again a week later, Phil was convinced he had a workable plan.

“My idea is that we have three teams of four,” he announced when to those in attendance. Each team will be split into two pairs and patrol different parts of the estate, paying close attention to areas we know to have been hit by crime. The two pairs should be in constant contact with each other to add to additional safety. If one pair sees anythings suspicious, they are to observe from a safe distance and if they see a crime being committed or has been committed, they should phone the police right away and if necessary, phone the other pair for back up.”

He produced a large map of the local area which, with assistance from Troy, blu-tacked to a wall behind him.”This is the area we will be dealing with the most,” he explained. “That doesn’t mean if you see something outside of this area, you do nothing. Still, observe and report it. Also, if you’re hungry, get something to eat as long as it’s one pair at a time. Seven til two is a long time to go without food. Besides, our presence around the local shops might be a good thing.”

“Can we choose our teams or have you already done that?” inquired a short, muscular African man who Christian knew from his days of playing American football and was sitting in the front row.

Philip replied, “I have made the teams according to availability but it’s up to you to decide who you want to pair off with in your team.”

The man seemed satisfied with the explanation.

Not wanting to bore the assembly any further, Philip rushed the details of how the patrols should go. One pair was to walk around the Wilmer Estate and the other the Sandall Estate, keeping in view on the tower blocks of the estates as well as the surrounding houses. They should also patrol the streets leading up to the estates from the Roman Road. He also emphasised that the two pairs should contact one another at least once an hour and meet up two or three times during their patrol, thus ensuring greater safety.

“So far, so good,” Philip thought to himself at this point of the presentation. Now came the part he was really worried about, the naming of the teams. “I’ll be leading team one which consists of Jacob, Tariq and Tom. Troy will lead the second team with Lashay, Sam and Gurdev. Gurpreet will lead the third team with Christian, Martin and Nikita.”

He paused for comments about the assigned groupings but none came forth. Everyone seemed to be okay with it. Satisfied, he suggested, “Let’s go down to the bar, the team leaders will be buying the first round for their teams.” As the procession filed down stairs to celebrate, it looked as if the neighbourhood patrol was off to a good start.