We say no to crime, do you?

DA councillor, Alta de Kock, was pretty miffed at being robbed twice in the CBD within two weeks.

However, it wasn’t until she spoke about her experience to friends at the Vryheid Bowling Club that she realised just how dire the crime situation in Vryheid actually is.

“I heard of seven cell-phones and five handbags being stolen in town just that day. It was then that I decided that things can’t go on like this. Something needed to be done,” she said.

Speaking about her personal experience, Alta said that criminals had jammed her car lock when she had parked in front of Edgars on Church Street. “My handbag was stolen, which contained my purse, watch, perfume and a few other personal belongings. Three days later, I got my cards back after police found them in a storm-water drain at the taxi rank.”

“The second time I was robbed, I had parked in front of Jet, also on Church Street, and was going to go to Home Affairs to help a member of my ward. As I stopped the car, a man approached and tried to sell me a jacket. When I refused, he opened the door, but I quickly pulled the door shut again. I then realised that, while this man was distracting me, another man had opened the passenger door and stolen my vanity case and jacket,” explained Alta.

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“Since I started talking about it, nearly everyone I have spoken to has been a victim of crime in the CBD. A friend of mine said that his car locks were also jammed, a police officer told me that he had the same experience this morning (Monday), a resident’s handbag was grabbed in front of Donna Claire, and Harry Heyn’s cell-phone was snatched in front of Ace Mica. Then, there was an elderly gentleman who had just bought a pair of new shoes and was walking home, when someone ran up behind him and stole his shopping. He hadn’t walked 200m further, when another man bumped into him, stealing his cell-phone.”

“This can’t go on!”

Gathering news for this week’s edition of the Vryheid Herald, journalists learned of three murders, one armed robbery, and three cases of rape that were opened between Saturday and Monday.

In the past year, the number of murder cases reported at SAPS has increased by 4.9%, attempted murder has increased by 3.4%, assault with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm has increased by 0.2%, common assault has increased by 2.2%, and robbery with aggravating circumstances has increased by 2.7%. The third highest incidence of common robbery was reported in KwaZulu-Natal.

Calling on the community to be more vigilant and demanding proactive measures from the police to deter crime, Alta has arranged a peaceful march on Friday, which has now been dubbed #BlackFriday.

Residents, who wish to show support, are encouraged to once again wear black clothing. Participants in the cavalcade will begin gathering at Cecil Emmett at 11am. A cavalcade of vehicles, including tractors driven by farmers protesting against farm murders, will make its way to Klipkerk at 12pm, where a peaceful protest is being planned for 1pm. At 1.30pm a Member of Parliament will hand over a memorandum of demands to Public Safety Director, General Ntuli. AbaQulusi Mayor, Jerry Sibiya, will say a few words regarding crime in the area before the protest concludes at 1.50pm.

The Vryheid Herald thanks all the businesses who supported its ‘Say No to Crime’ feature in this week’s edition. The profits from the feature will be donated to the Vryheid Buurtwag so it may continue to play a role in keeping Vryheid safe.