Be extra vigilant during this time of year – security expert
“People are too relaxed today and not observant.”
A local security company has urged residents of Centurion to be vigilant following a spike in home invasions, motor vehicle theft, and robberies in the area.
Monitor Net spokesperson JP le Roux advised residents to protect their property and attributed the uptick in crime to the approaching holiday season.
“Crime occurs all over in Centurion and cannot be attributed to one area specifically,” Le Roux added.
He revealed that the greatest challenge facing private security at this time was the power outages.
“Currently our biggest challenge is load-shedding and delay in receiving information from the general public. The quicker and more accurate information received, the better we can react.”
Le Roux also urged residents not to let their guard down.
“People are too relaxed today and not observant. They will easily leave valuables out in the open in a car.”
Le Roux advised the residents to practice safety at all times by checking if their vehicles were properly locked and regularly walking around their property to ensure nothing was out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, police spokesperson in Centurion Captain Dave Miller told the Rekord that the most common crimes in the area were property-related, house breaking-in vehicle theft as well as robberies.
Miller said the Central Business District (CBD) was the hot spot where too many activities were taking place.
“The Centurion CBD area is affectionately known as sector 1 which is Highveld, Zwartkops area, that section is a lot more prone to more vehicle theft because more cars are coming into that area as there are more shops, so obviously for criminals that’s a shop area for them,” he added.
He further said Lyttelton Manor was prone to housebreaking ins which normally happen early hours of the morning and late in the evenings up until 4 am in morning.
Miller said the challenges police face during the festive season was people driving under the influence of alcohol, adding that made their job difficult to do.
He further shared safety tips with residents during this time of the year.
“In terms of safety tips, make sure you let your neighbors where you going away, make sure that all your newspapers are collected, and also notify your private security you won’t be there,” Miller added.
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