Nearly twice as many burglaries in Vryheid in the last year

THE SOUTH African Crime stats are out and they show that burglaries are becoming a major problem in Vryheid.

Stats show that cases have risen from just 69 cases of burglary at non-residential area in 2015 to 134 cases being reported last year.

Businesses are not the only ones being targeted, as burglary in residential areas is also up from 283 cases in 2015 to 363 last year.

Other crimes that seem to be on the rise include theft out of motor vehicle, which went from 253 cases in 2015 to 288 in 2016. Illegal possession of firearms, drug related crimes, common assault are other crimes that went up between the 2015-2016 period in Vryheid.

Crimes that seems to be on the rise in Mondlo include common assault, which went up from 108 counts in 2015 to 132 in 2016 and drug related crime, which went up from 68 counts in 2015 to 93 in 2016.

All other crimes in the area showed a significant decrease or not that much difference from the year before, these included burglary at residential premises, which went down from 298 in 2015 to 254 in 2016. Common robbery went down from 69 counts in 2015 to 43 in 2016.

According to the Vryheid SAPS, most of the burglaries in Vryheid occur during the day when homeowners are at work or on Sunday while people are at church.

Locals are urged to double check that all their doors are locked properly and their windows are closed before leaving their homes.

“If your neighbours house is burgled and you happen to witness this happening, we urge you to come forward and report this crime as it might happen to you in the future. Criminals are highly likely to return to the same area, if they find valuables in one house they seem to believe they will find more in another house in the same area,” said Lt. Zwane of the Vryheid SAPS.