Following a sharp rise in theft out of vehicles, Wynberg police are seeking public assistance in putting a stop to this crime trend.
They are appealing to car owners not to leave any valuables in their cars or at least to keep them out of sight.
Capt Silvino Davids, spokesperson for Wynberg Police Station, says reported incidents in this crime category have more than doubled in the past two months. He says officers are putting their heads together as to the cause of the sudden spike.
“Whether it is due to new releases from prison or drug users who are getting more and more desperate? It can be various reasons but still, the task remains for us to curb it and catch these perpetrators,” he says.
Davids adds that with winter fast approaching, it is important that the issue is addressed now.
“It is getting darker quicker and the weather is going to become rainy. So if we are at this point already… We don’t want the situation to escalate heading into the season when it is even more difficult to police this crime,” he says.
According to the police, the area in and around Main Road is one of the criminals’ biggest targets.
Davids says thefts are mostly being perpetrated during the day. With Main Road being so busy and congested, he says people tend to park their cars off-street or any place they can find parking. Often these spots aren’t visible to passersby, making it ideal for thieves to operate undercover.
He says criminals will strike anywhere they see an opportunity.
“People leave their vehicles to quickly run into a shop or to use an ATM. They leave their cellphone in the car or their laptop on the backseat or their bag. These are things that are repeatedly being stolen. In most of these cases, it is laptops, cellphones or wallets that are left in sight in the vehicle.”
Davids says sometimes people don’t even lock their cars properly or activate their alarms. “We urge residents to make sure their cars are properly locked and that nothing is visible in the car. And just be aware of your surroundings, of where you park; if you see any characters lurking around.”
Another area where the police have recently noted a spike in this crime category is the parking area at Cecilia Forest.
Davids says people park their cars there to go for a walk or a hike and when they return they discover that their vehicles have been broken into.
“The same scenario; valuables left in sight in the car. People should please rather leave their stuff at home,” he says.
Davids says a good place to start when investigating this type of crime is at local second-hand shops.
“Our guys go there and check. We have a second-hand dealer officer who deals with that and also detectives who do spot checks, looking for items that were stolen.”
He explains that pawnshops are legally obligated to keep a register of what second-hand items they bought from whom. An ID number must be provided.
“We check up on these to see, if we are lucky, whether some of the stolen items were pawned at one of these shops. If we find something then obviously there must be an ID and then we work from there,” Davids says.
