PEOPLE'S POST | ATLANTIC SEABOARD | CITY EDITION Tuesday, 19 January 2016
SEA POINT
Mixed score for crime fighters NICOLE MCCAIN @nickymccain
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s the festive season draws to a close, local police have reported mixed results in combating crime. While theft out of cars and house breakins decreased in the Sea Point policing precinct, theft and business crime spiked. The most common crime over the festive season in the area was assault. Business crime increased due to a number of criminals targeting ATMs where cards were stolen and money withdrawn, says Sea Point police spokesperson Captain Johan Pentz. The increase in cases of theft can mainly be attributed to negligence by people who leave their belongings unattended in restaurants and clubs, at swimming pools and in various other public places, he says. But the successful implementation of plans and a partnership with other enforcement agencies resulted in the decrease in theft out of cars and house break-ins. “Reservists were deployed on foot patrols on a daily basis at shopping malls, in business sectors and at the beachfront and an
operational centre was established at the Sea Point Pavilion to deal with any incidents related to the swimming pool, promenade and beaches, together with municipal law enforcement departments,” he says. . Cases of stolen cars and assault spiked in the Cape Town Central policing precinct over the festive season. “Some of this crime is caused by unemployment,” says Cape Town Central police spokesperson Captain Ezra October. “Assaults occur due to arguments between friends or employers and employees, and the abuse of drugs and alcohol.” A number of other crimes occurred over the festive season, including theft, ATM fraud, robberies and domestic violence, he says. However, there was an increase in arrests for drug-related crimes, drunken driving and the possession of dangerous weapons, stolen goods and house-breaking tools. “Cape Town Central police activated a plan, had car checkpoints in hotspot areas, did pamphlet distribution and organised social crime prevention initiatives with local improvement districts, NGOs and various community stakeholders,” October says.
NEWS 3
REWARD* R100.000 WHO HAS SEEN THIS CAR? HISTORIC RESEARCH
Car thieves caught at work The Sea Point Improvement District’s camera network has stopped a group of thieves in their tracks. This after the suspect broke into a car on Regent Road. A camera network controller was monitoring the camera terminal when he noticed three suspicious individuals talking on their cellphones and walking up and down an area in Regent Road. Recognising this behaviour as suspicious and in line with the various methods of operation around car-related crimes, the controller alerted one of the improvement district’s mobile drivers and footbeat guards in the area, says chief operations officer Heather Tager. “Our reaction team began responding to the scene and with this the controller witnessed the one suspect entering the car. Our
first response car arrived within two minutes of being alerted,” she says. The officers found the suspect still in the car counting money he had stolen. He was apprehended and handed over to the Sea Point police. The security team waited at the car until the owner arrived and informed him of the incident. The owner checked his car and confirmed that money had been taken. “He was certain he locked the vehicle via remote which was clearly jammed by the suspects,” Tager says. Remote jamming is a major contributor to theft out of cars, she explains. “It is important for owners to manually check their cars once using the remote and never push the lock button while walking away,” she says.
Quick wit helps homeless boy Quick thinking by a Sea Point improvement district safety officer, and a spot of social media, has resulted in an 18-year-old man being reunited with his family. Bonginkosi Bobani was on patrol on Thursday 7 January when he noticed the young man begging for money. Bobani, having not seen him in the area before, approached the man and asked him where he had come from. The young man explained that he had been living in Khayelitsha and that his family originated from the Eastern Cape. Recognising the man’s home town as one
in which he had friends, Bobani took to social media to ask if anyone could locate the man’s family. “Five minutes later they phoned me back and we arranged for the boy to be fetched,” Bobani says. It appears as if the young man had run away from home after fearing punishment for a misdemeanour, and his family had been searching for him for some time. Bobani notified Natalie Coetzee, the Sea Point Community Police Forum fieldworker, and the young man was reunited with his family.
No road worries in M3 upgrade TIYESE JERANJI @jeranji A section of the M3 between Newlands and Trovato Link in Wynberg is to be resurfaced from late January or early February. The roadworks will happen during night time and take about four and a half months. The project, at a cost of R17m, should be completed by mid-May. Ian Bowker, the head of pavement materials and rehabilitation at Transport for Cape Town, says all construction work has been scheduled to take place at night so that motorists are not inconvenienced. “Work on the outbound lane will take place between 19:30 and 05:30 and work on the inbound lane will be done between 19:00
and 05:00. Concerns regarding noise levels have been taken into account and jackhammers will be allowed until 23:00. “Unfortunately, reverse beepers are a legal safety requirement but we have specified that they be dampened to try to minimise their impact. We have also specified regular pre-work meetings with the work crew to remind them about reducing on-site noise levels,” says Bowker. The project will repair all parts of the M3 in the area that were not completed during the resurfacing done in 2014. The slow lanes in both directions will be treated with three new asphalt layers while the fast lanes will receive two new layers. In both lanes the existing old asphalt will be removed and replaced.
SILVER MONOPOSTO RACE CAR WITH REAR ENGINE Phone: 021 461 2376 ask for Marco Mail: wuenschpeter@hotmail.com There is a reward* up to R100.000 for reliable information leading to the car’s recovery.