Alberton residents addressed on riots and looting

The purpose of the meeting was to talk to residents about the looming threat of riots and looting and to inform them on how they can get involved in safeguarding Alberton.

Residents were warned that the high-risk areas that are identified for Alberton are Heidelberg Road towards the CBD and Old Vereeniging Road towards Alrode.

Early mornings were also identified as risk times.

Du Toit Lambrechts, speaking on behalf of the Alberton Riot Group asked the residents to be the eyes and ears of law enforcement. “We need early warnings,” said Lambrechts.

At the meeting, he recommended that at this stage if you come across an incident to contact your security company to give them the information they need.

On patrol

He requested that if residents are able to, to assist them by patrolling the areas in Alberton. He warned that you would be patrolling in your own capacity and therefore ensuring your own safety and ensuring that your acting responsibly is very important.

When patrolling he advised residents that awareness is key. You should always look around your area and keep your windows open slightly to be able to hear what is going on around you.

He further said that you should never patrol alone and ideally should patrol with at least three people, one of whom has previous experience in patrolling.

He asked that when people report incidents that add the date, time, location and their name to the message.

Further information such as the size of the group, the direction they are heading in and the mood within the group should be added to the message.

There to assist

Speaking on behalf of AfriForum, Lewellynn Hemmens, the safety coordinator, indicated that they are able to assist patrollers both with permits and operational legal help if they need it. He indicated that for them to do this the person would be required to be a member of AfriForum and operate within the law of South Africa.

Hemmens further indicated that research done by AfriForum showed that while the looting and riots were originally politically motivated they are now purely motivated by criminal acts. In extension to this, he said that the targets of the rioters are therefore large stores where there is an abundance of things to loot, rather than residential homes.

At the meeting, Capital Air from Rand Airport, a security company that offer helicopter and specialised security services, indicated that they will provide assistance within Alberton.

This includes helping with aerial surveillance of the area and confirming and tracking movements of looters. They also go up in the air around the area several times a day and will report any movements into the area.