Sandbaai serious about crime
In an attempt to find ways to fight crime more successfully, the Hermanus police held the first in a series of community meetings on Saturday.
Role players who attended the community meeting held in the Sandbaai Hall on Saturday included, from left: Chris Niewoudt (Stop Crime Before It Happens), Sas Williams (Sandbaai Neighbourhood Watch), WO CJ du Toit (Hermanus police), Derrick Dickens (CPF vice chairperson), Lt Col Francois de Wet (acting commander of Hermanus Police Station), Nico Hechter (chairperson of Sandbaai Neighbourhood Watch), Hitler Geldenhuys (vice chairperson of Sandbaai Neighbourhood Watch), Henk Marais, André Niewoudt
In an attempt to find ways to fight crime more successfully, the Hermanus police held the first in a series of community meetings on Saturday.
While the meetings in Zwelihle and Mt Pleasant were not well attended on Saturday morning, dozens of people arrived at the Sandbaai Hall at 14:00. The meeting was opened by Lieutenant Colonel Francois de Wet, acting commander of Hermanus Police Station, who said the turnout was indicative of Sandbaai residents’ commitment to fighting crime in their area.
De Wet was pleased to announce that crime statistics for Sandbaai had improved significantly over the last 12 months, and he congratulated the community on their crime-fighting initiatives.
However, residential burglaries, theft from motor vehicles, general theft and abalone poaching remain the main crime problems in the area, especially in Sandbaai East. Drug abuse plays a part in an overwhelming number of these crimes, De Wet added.
Ways in which you can assist the police in apprehending and convicting criminals include: activating alarms; maintaining safety gates and burglar bars; getting to know your neighbours; keeping valuable items such as laptops, firearms, diving equipment and bicycles in a safe place; marking your possessions so that they are easily identifiable when stolen property is recovered; making a copy of the ID document of any person before employing them to work on your premises; having a clearly marked number on your property so the police don’t have to struggle to find it; and not interfering with a crime scene until the investigation has been completed.
“Bad things happen when good people do nothing,” De Wet said.
Other role players invited as guest speakers to the meeting included Derrick Dickens, vice chairperson of the Community Police Forum (CPF), and Chris Niewoudt of Stop Crime Before It Happens.
Residents were urged to become involved with these community initiatives and act as “partners in crime” with the police service.
Follow-up meetings will be arranged in the coming weeks, and the public is again urged to attend these meetings, which are held in the interest of their safety.
They also give residents the opportunity to put their questions and grievances to the police and receive first-hand answers.
By HEDDA MITTNER
Source: Hermanus Times