The Swakopmund Neighbourhood Watch held a fundraiser at Rossmund Village to buy electronic devices to assist them in the fight against crime.
Created in 2011, the Swakopmund Neighbourhood Watch's mission is to help police in the fight against crime.
The group, which has recorded numerous success stories, relies on donations and fundraisers to effectively carry out its work.
The latest fundraiser was a golf tournament and fun day at Rossmund Village, less than 10 kilometres outside Swakopmund.
"The idea behind the fundraiser initiative is to get some funds available so that we can buy some electronic devices to assist us in combating crime. We are interested in buying a drone with an infrared camera, which can help us at night to catch housebreakers, and we are always short of radios for communication, etc.," said the group chairperson, Andre van Rensburg.
The chairperson said neighbourhood watch groups make an impact in the community as ordinary people respond to citizens subjected to crime and various emergencies.
"It is important because you are your own response; nobody else would look out for you. You have to look out for yourself, and if we look at the current situation, where crime has changed, it happens during the day. We have reported about it on social media: house break-ins in broad daylight. We had one earlier this morning, and that just shows that if the community is not involved, if we don't wake up and become more vigilant and aware of our surroundings, we will not win this fight."
Van Rensburg says part of the group's success relies on a large CCTV project, which requires funds and involves members monitoring criminal activities from a control room.
However, he emphasised the need for more community members to join the group.
"We are urgently looking for manpower; funds are one thing which we know we can generate through fundraisers, but we need manpower. Our numbers have dropped drastically. When we started, we were 124 just in Ocean View; today, we have 90 active members in the whole of Swakopmund. So we are desperate for new members."
Van Rensburg stressed that house break-ins are a serious concern, as criminals become bolder and frequently terrorise the community.