Police: no progress in hijacking cases
The police have not made any headway in the investigation of the spate of recent hijackings and attempted hijackings in and around the city as yet.
POLOKWANE – The police have not made any headway in the investigation of the spate of recent hijackings and attempted hijackings in and around the city as yet.
Polokwane police spokesperson, WO Lesiba Ramoshaba, urged residents with any information in this regard to come forward and assist them with their investigation.
He said there were also several cases reported in which large amounts of money had been stolen out of vehicles, and it was possible that the victims had been followed by the robbers and then robbed at an opportune time.
Shopping centres in the city have also upgraded their security at ATMs and banks for the safety of shoppers.
According to one shopping centre’s security manager, who did not wish to be named, the procedures at most shopping centres were the same as they had been proven through trial and error.
Most shopping centres also had car guards who were outside at all times and had the best view of vehicles coming and going in the parking area, the security manager said.
Most shopping centres also had CCTV coverage and monitoring in most of the areas both inside and outside the shopping centre 24 hours a day. Shopping centres’ security divisions also worked with the police to combat crime and ensure a speedy response when any crime was committed.
Savannah Mall’s management said they and their security section knew the identities and were always on the look out for people who had been caught shoplifting or committing any other crime in and around the mall.
The mall’s management said they also worked closely with the police and the community policing forum, and also received a weekly list of suspicious vehicles, which assisted their security section in their task of preventing crime. “We urge the public to make use of the mall as it has been proven to be much safer,” Savannah Mall’s management said.
Ramoshaba said residents were urged to rather make payments electronically, and use their ATM or credit cards to make payments instead of having a large amount of cash on them.
He also urged people not to travel with large amounts of cash or any valuable items in their vehicles.
“Residents must please report all crime incidents to the police as soon as possible after they occur. This will assist us to be proactive, especially in areas where crimes occur more frequently. If these crimes are not reported, we will not know which areas need special attention,” he said.
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