Rondebosch police has flagged a sudden spike in burglaries and theft out of vehicles in their precinct this past month as a cause for concern.
According to WO Lyndon Sisam for corporate communication at Rondebosch Police Station, the burglary crime rate from Friday 15 April to Wednesday 4 May shows an increase of four cases when compared to last year’s statistics for the same period. The category theft out of a vehicle shows an increase of 10 cases.
Sisam says when they attend to crime scenes where housebreaking has occurred, it is surprising to note that most people don’t activate their alarm when they are at home and many others don’t have alarm systems installed. He says most burglaries seem to occur after dark, especially in the early hours of the morning.
“Most opportunistic suspects find safety gates not locked and windows left slightly open and gates are derailed. The front door or garage was forced open in some cases. If possible, link up your garage to your alarm system,” he says.
As to theft out of vehicles, he says the “where and when” in Rondebosch is sporadic, but geographical block 1829 ( Belmont Road across to Boundary Road/Kelvin Road at the stadium in Newlands with the east and west borders being the Main Road to the railway tracks) is the focus target.
Of particular concern, Sisam says, is the high number of remote jamming incidents reported at shopping centres, parking garages and sports clubs.
Remote jamming is when a remote device is used to block or jam the locking device of a motor vehicle. When the vehicle owner presses their vehicle’s remote, the suspect presses a different remote button at the same time, effectively blocking the signal from their remote to their vehicle.
Sisam shares that in the past month there have been five such cases. Areas targeted by criminals include underground parking at a popular mall and centre
“But after the new centre manager was made aware, he had CCTV cameras installed,” Sisam says.
He warns that they have also seen an increase in card cloning at the ATMs within the mall.
“Suspects are two males and sometimes a male and a female loitering at the ATM. Be vigilant when using any ATM and report any suspicious persons to the center security or your local police station,” Sisam says.
Security providers and representatives of community improvement districts that fall inside Rondebosch Police Station’s precinct are kept up to date on local crime trends at a Crime Partnership meeting held at the station every Monday.
The meeting is attended by Groote Schuur Community Improvement District (GSCID), Securitas, Fidelity ADT, Compass Tactical, Rondebosch Community Improvement District (RCID), Newlands Residents Association, Rustenburg Valley Residents Association, Riverside Mall and Rondebosch Main.
Sisam, who also serves as the partnership coordinator, says the purpose of partnership policing is to encourage good governance by increasing cooperation between the police and external stakeholders, including community organisations, business, private sector, non-government organisations and civil society; by bringing about more effective contributions from stakeholders who intend to work with the service; and by building effective and value-added police-community relations.
“We have an obligation to focus on crime prevention, detection and working with the community in partnership to develop common approaches and objectives to fight crime and recognise partnerships as a very effective way of tackling crime and related issues,” he says.
He says the meetings have proved invaluable in fighting crime in Rondebosch.
“Synergy and transparency are our focus. That is why, every Monday, we get together and discuss the past week’s crime with our partners. The partners then inform us about their challenges and, together, we all move our resources to the problematic areas.”
Combatting crime
Rondebosch police provide the following advice to homeowners to safeguard their properties from burglars.
- Don’t leave outside lights on the whole day.
- Don’t leave electronic items near an open window.
- Lock all outside doors and windows before leaving the house or going to bed. Even if it is for a short time, lock your doors.
- Leave lights on when you go out, especially if you are going to be away for a length of time.
- Keep the garage door closed and locked, and link your alarm to it. Use curtains on garage and basement windows.
- Do not allow daily deliveries of mail or newspapers while you are away.
- Dispose of any packaging of electrical appliances you purchased and place them in a black refuse bag to avoid showing criminals what appliance you have in your house.
- Check locks on doors or windows and replace them with a secure device if necessary.
- Always lock your garden sheds.
- When moving into a new home, have all locks changed.
- he following safety tips are provided to prevent remote jamming.
- Never push the remote locking whilst walking away from the vehicle.
- Check that the vehicle is locked by testing the door before walking away.
- Ensure the boot is locked.
- Call Rondebosch Police Station on 021 685 6600/1.
