Crime spree on the rise
"Criminals are targeting almost all the areas in town and they have experience in the crimes they are committing,"
There is another spike in theft out of vehicles and ATM scamming as the festive season draws near.
A recent robbery happened at the Action Cricket Arena. The matter is still under investigation.
According to a post that was circulating on Facebook, three vehicles were broken into on Monday.
Nelspruit Post previously reported about 26 vehicles that were broken into in the Mbombela area.
Nelspruit Concerned Citizens (NCC) has warned the public to be alert at all times.
“Criminals are targeting almost all the areas in town and they have experience in the crimes they are committing. We have identified theft out of vehicles and ATM scamming as the biggest problems in town.”
ALSO READ:Theft out of motor vehicles rampant
It has been determined that the criminals are working in groups. “The groups normally have about two or three people in them. They are very professional in what they do and are extremely manipulative.
“They analyse a person before they rob them and also study an area very well in advance. They know what they are doing because they have done it so many times before.
“We have viewed some of the tapes from areas in town and we have seen that it is the same group of people committing these crimes.
“The reason why they keep doing this is because they succeeded the first time and nothing happened to them.
“They also have people who are scouting the streets for them, informing them of valuables left in vehicles,” NCC explained.
ALSO READ:Rampant theft from motor vehicles seen over weekend
It is important to note that even though the criminals are targeting all the ATMs in town they also prefer ATMs that are isolated from others.
“Also, they know that some do not have cameras. When they rob people at ATMs one of the guys will pretend as if he has a problem with the machine, then the second will appear pretending to help.
“The public need to be aware of such instances because before you know it they are offering to help you and they rob you.”
Callum MacPherson of Hi-Tech said holiday crime trends also include house break-ins.
“The number of instances will increase until at least 15 December. Complexes are the favoured targets since residents either do not have alarm systems or do not use them frequently.
Criminals favour this as it means that no one is responding right after a break-in, giving them ample time to escape,” he added.
Earlier this year Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism made an appeal to citizens not to leave items in their cars.
