With a worrying rise in robberies and assault, Grassy Park police have issued a warning to residents to remain extra vigilant with their money and possessions during the festive season.
Last week, Grassy Park Police Station commander Col Andre Van Wyk shared with the People’s Post, the various crimes residents should be aware of.
Assault
According to Van Wyk, when it comes to contact crimes such as assault and assault with the intent to do grievous harm there has been a rise in incidents, especially during the silly season when drugs and alcohol abuse is rife.
“We have a lot of assaults,” he explained. “In Grassy Park, there is a balance of assaults reported for domestic violence and arguments and the sad part is that it barely gets to court due to lack of witnesses and withdrawal of cases in particularly with domestic violence where the perpetrator is also the bread winner.”
Van wyk termed it “a vicious cycle.”
“I want parents to please control their children because youth are fighting among each other.”
He urged young people to walk away from arguments instead of reacting in anger. “I want to encourage people to turn around and walk away from fights. We have so many assaults that turn out very sad, into murder and this is the time of year where people have excessive parties, substance abuse and alcohol.”
Robberies
Another major concern is the number of street robberies reported.
“I am concerned about the street robberies in Grassy Park,” Van Wyk shared. “People must be aware of their surroundings and remember not to walk alone but rather walk in groups so that you are protected.”
The public is advised to be careful of their surroundings.
“This is the time of year you would have opportunistic crimes taking place, so don’t walk with earphones in your ears, don’t walk with your cellphone in your hands and be alert of your environment.”
E-hailing robberies
With the rise in technology and e-hailing apps as well as delivery apps, it has opened a window for criminals to target unsuspecting victims.
“E-hailing apps are now becoming a platform to get robbed and to commit robberies,” Van Wyk explained. “Drivers are getting robbed and in a few instances it was the passengers. We also had cases where passengers were robbed, by third parties, once they climbed out of the vehicle.”
Perpetrators allegedly use a different address when using the e-hailing app and once the e-ualing or delivery driver arrives, they steal his/her phone, money and valuables.
“E-hailing robberies is a big problem for us…the most recent robbery occurred in Dewet Road, Grassy Park on Sunday 27 October,” Van Wyk recalled. “It started off with a e-hailing driver arriving and then gangsters climbing in the vehicle, pulling up the handbrake which later escalated into a shooting.”
Fraud
Fraud cases often occur when someone clicks on a fraudulent link which leads to large withdrawals of cash.
“Our fraud cases where people are defrauded of money, are when money has withdrawn from someone’s account because the victim clicked on a Facebook Marketplace links or ad,” Van wyk commented. “Don’t click on any links that you are not familiar with.”
Attempted kidnappings
Grassy Park police urge parents to aware of what their children are doing on social media, especially between the age group of nine and 14.
“During the course of the year we had incidents of attempted kidnapping of children,” Van Wyk shared. “I request that children do not walk alone to shops but instead to always walk in large groups. They must not engage with any strangers.”
Stoning of vehicles
Residents, driving late at night are cautioned of stoning incidents that occurred in Strandfontein Road.
“People are very resourceful when it comes to robberies,” said Van Wyk.
He called on the community to report any criminal activities.
“We depend on the community to be our eyes and ears and to reach out to report any criminal matters.”
