Curfew blamed for spike in north crime
Residents living on the smallholding in the north of Pretoria have been targeted and terrorized over the past few days by opportunistic thieves.
The lockdown curfew has been blamed for smallholdings in the north of Pretoria reporting a spike in crime over the past weekend.
Various incidents, such as an armed robbery, trespassing as well as breaking-and-entering had been reported to the Pretoria North sector 3 CPF.
One of the biggest factors contributing to the increased crime in the area was believed to be due to the current national lockdown regulations that prohibit the local CPF from patrolling after curfew.
“Unfortunately, we can’t patrol at night right now because of the lockdown situation,” said Pretoria North CPF chairman Cobie Jansen van Rensburg.
Meanwhile, smallholding residents have reportedly been targeted by opportunistic thieves.
On 1 May at around 01:00, a house robbery was reported in the Honingsnestkrans area.
“The culprit cut the fence of the property and removed the putty from the windows of the house to force the burglar bars open,” said Jansen van Rensburg.
“Three men armed with pangas entered the victim’s room and tied him up.”
He said clothes, meat, tinned food, a cellphone and other valuable items were stolen.
“The victim managed to untie himself and drove to the Pretoria North police station to seek help and report the robbery.”
The following day, another resident in Honingsnestkrans reported a break-in at the storerooms of his smallholding.
“Amongst the items stolen were grinding machines and welding equipment.”
Another resident also reported that his borehole pump was found uprooted on 2 May.
“A case was opened at the police station. The owner installed a new pump on Saturday. The next morning, he found a forceful attempt was made to dig out the new pump.”
“In Rentia and Kallie streets, suspects managed to break down a wall and tried to lift a sliding door from the frame. Fortunately, the tenants woke up and the suspects ran away.”
The same night, tyres were stolen from another property in the area.
Jansen van Rensburg said the CPF’s hands were tied.
“We are not allowed to patrol, especially after curfew when the criminals roam the area.”
With the current national lockdown regulations, no one except police officials and the defence force is allowed to be out on the streets between 20:00 and 05:00.
Jansen van Rensburg urged the community to be vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police.
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