Honeydew police have discovered that most criminal activities including hijackings often happen when police are changing shift.
Public relations officer of the Honeydew Community Policing Forum, Jon Rosenberg said perpetrators were aware of a lack of visibility during shift changes. “This issue needs to be addressed as crime happens while the police are busy changing their shifts,” he said.
Rosenberg pointed out that the shift changes were at 6am and 6pm respectively every day. He urged residents to safeguard their vehicles, especially high-risk cars such as Mercedes-Benz and older Toyota model cars.
In addressing the issue, the new crime prevention commander, Colonel Johan Theunissen, indicated that there was a team in place during shift changes. “We’ve put in place this team that we call the echo group which will work irregular hours and monitor the entire precinct,” he explained.
He added that the operation was bearing fruit as the area was seeing a decrease in criminal activities.
Honeydew station commander, Colonel Muzomuhle Mncwabe agreed that crime had dropped in the Honeydew area but that their area of concern now was Cosmo City which was being policed frequently.
Spokesperson of the Honeydew Police Station, Captain Balan Muthan, gave hijacking tips during the festive season:
- Be observant at all times while driving
- Remain calm at all times
- Follow the instructions of the hijacker
- Do not make sudden moves
- Do not remain in the car
- Avoid direct eye contact with the hijacker
- Take note of everything, it might be tattoos, shoe colour, clothes and facial recognition
- If you believe you are being followed, drive to the nearest garage or police station.
