During a management meeting of the Soutpansberg Town Watch on Monday, July 30, it was decided that the town watch will cease with the use of the white lights until such time that legal clarification on the matter is received.

Their decision follows an incident last week Tuesday when several of its members, as well as members of the TAU SA’s Farm Watch, received traffic tickets for displaying the lights. On Tuesday this week, a letter was sent to the station commissioner of the Louis Trichardt police, Supt N Shivula, informing her of the decision.

In the letter, the town watch reconfirm their continued commitment in supporting the police in their endeavours to fight crime and say that the town watch appreciate the work the police are doing.

"It is not our intention to come into conflict with the police. Our main objective remains ensuring the safety of our town’s people. We will thus continue with our patrols," the letter states. The letter further asked the police to come up with suggestions as to how the town watch could overcome the problem of visibility (the main reason for the white lights) as this is a crucial aspect of crime prevention.

In the meantime, the whole issue of the lights is at present receiving much attention, both on provincial and national level.