Lack of resources result of late police response in small farm holding

The crime-riddled small farming community of Haakdoornboom came together in a public meeting to address the recent spate of robberies.

During the meeting on October 28, it came to light that the lack of resources has resulted in a slow reaction time and limited police visibility as there is only one police vehicle to service two sectors.

Residents were up in arms expressing concerns about the continuous violent house robberies that occur daily in the area.

A victim of a recent robbery said family dinner was now dominated by talk about safety plans and police response in the event of an attack.

“When it gets dark, we start to worry. We do not sleep at night.

At 02:00, we are walking around the house, looking out of windows to see if someone is out there to rob us again.”

The community believes that there is a crime syndicate operating in the area because it seems criminals are using the same modus operandi of using spotters who plan which house to target next.

The victim said dogs were distracted on one side of the property while someone cut the fence on the other side to gain access.

“When the robbers gain access to the home, they rob their victims, tie them up or assault them.”

The victim said while the increase in these violent crimes is clear, police hadn’t come to the aid of the residents as they hoped.

The community said that last year they had to wait more than 15 minutes for police to show up after the community apprehended a suspected robber.

“In the end, the robber escaped.

Last week police appeared three hours after a robbery had been reported.”

Pretoria North police station commander Joyce Jula said only one police vehicle was available in the area so they could only attend to one incident at a time.

“The desired reaction time after a call to police is 10-20 minutes.

Residents have to understand that police have a protocol to follow.

We cannot be everywhere at once and when we receive a call and a vehicle is free, I will send it out.”

She said locals called in for help but did not open a case.

“So, without a paper trail, we are unable to provide stats to support our request for extra resources for the area.”

However, a resident said they had opened several cases at the police station yet no detective had come to their home to follow up.

Cobie Jansen van Rensburg of the local CPF emphasised that the first line of defence in a small farming community is communication and encouraged residents to buy a two-way radio.

“This is not a money-making scheme. When they [criminals] get into your home, the first thing they will take is your cellphone.

Via radio, your reports will grab our attention as we are not always close to our phones.”

While the meeting did not result in residents finding a resolution, they were assured that their problem was bigger than poor service from the police.

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