While the festive season presents us with a chance to relax and go on holiday, it also provides plenty of scope for opportunistic criminals. Make sure your business interests, home, possessions and family are safe before the onset of this festive season.
Craig Adendorff of local crime fighting initiative Sun Cell Watch (which is rapidly branching out its network across South Africa) said he believes there is definitely a rise in criminal activity at this time of year, as we are all swept up by the “Silly Season”.
“Yes,” said Adendorff, “I believe the spike has already started and expect it to increase over the festive season.
“Thieves who break into houses drive around looking for a house that is an easy target. For instance, a driveway that is below road level, out of eyeshot of passers-by, is a possible target. They also seem to target houses in roads which have easy access so they can make their escape easily.”
Adendorff had some thoughts on which items the criminals might be targeting: “The most wanted items are plasma TVs and LCDs. If they can take a laptop on the way out they will. From start to finish they take less than three minutes once they’ve started the operation, otherwise they abandon their efforts and flee.”
Protect your home: Beware of housebreaking
Experts have warned home owners to ensure they have adequate security for their homes before they go on holiday. Adendorff says beams in the garden are an essential deterrent.
“The alarm must sound before entry into the house so it leaves them less time before the reaction vehicle arrives. If you are not connected to an armed response company you’re a sitting duck. Ensure the alarm system’s back-up battery is newish, fully charged and not faulty. Test it at regular intervals.
“Most burglar bars can easily be kicked out, so ensure strong guards are fitted. Get a neighbour or friend to clear your post box on a regular basis as a full post box is a sure sign nobody is home.”
Adendorff said, in his experience, the areas within the Ridge community of most concern this festive season were likely to be Durban North, Sunningdale and La Lucia.
He advised members of The Ridge community to ensure that they swapped cellphone numbers with their neighbours when they went away.
For info on Sun Cell Watch.
The South African Chamber of Commerce’s Peggy Droski told East Coast Radio’s Lauren Holly that while the body does not have exact figures about crime during the holiday season, anecdotal evidence suggests that crime, both more serious and smaller crime, does spike towards the end of the year. As businesses place decorations and product in shop windows, so the temptation to commit criminal acts increases at this time of year.
Droski was commenting on the pressures of a society with unemployment at more than 40%, where the needs of the have nots could push them into criminal activity.
“I think if you think of the large number of unemployed people, it’s a big temptation to them. As soon as you get that feeling that Christmas is coming, that’s when these thoughts come through and perhaps that’s when crime starts to increase.”
The Durban North and Umhlanga CPF has urged residents to be diligent about reporting crime in the area: “Unfortunately, much of the criminal activity in the area goes unreported to the SAPS, and if it is reported, it may not be correctly recorded and does not appear on the statistics sent to Parliament. As a result the police stations in Prestondale and Durban North are under-resourced.”
Crime fighting volunteers make inroads
The organisation notes that you do not need to have anything stolen in order to report a crime. “If someone has gained, or tried to gain, entry to your garden or home, a criminal offence has been committed and you need to report this to SAPS.” Even though this burglar may have been unsuccessful in a specific case, he will have undoubtedly committed a string of similar offences in the area, advises a notice on the organisation’s website. Those affected by crime are advised that it is imperative to get a case number and the name of the investigating officer concerned.