A suspect in a smash-and-grab incident that took place on Tuesday evening in Centurion has been arrested, minutes after he allegedly committed the crime.
According to Pierre Viviers, chairperson of the Sector 2 Community Policing Forum (CPF), the suspect was arrested as he ran away from the scene at the intersection of the R101 and Nellmapius Drive, and into a field.
“The suspect was still in possession of the handbag that he stole out of a woman’s vehicle,” Viviers said.
The victim broke the front passenger window of the vehicle and took the handbag.
Viviers and his team, which witnessed the crime, alerted a police vehicle in the vicinity that arrived almost immediately at the scene.
The police, together with the CPF and security companies, staked out this intersection earlier in the week to monitor criminal activities.
According to Viviers, crime, mainly smash-and-grab incidents, has increased in the last month. “Sometimes as many as two incidents happen in one evening,” he said. “It has really become a headache.”
Viviers also noticed that women are the most likely to be victimised. Captain Agnus Huma, spokesperson of the Wierdaburg police, agreed that smash-and-grab incidents are a big problem on the R101.
