Polokwane: Steep rise in vehicle break-ins
Within a time frame of one month, a total of six stolen vehicles were recorded according to CPF chairperson Rudolph.
POLOKWANE – The Polokwane policing area ranks seventh out of 30 policing precincts where thieves broke into vehicles and stole valuables in the period October to December last year, with 257 reported cases in this period. This translates to almost three incidents per day.
The Polokwane Police Station has a 24% share of the 1 030 cases reported across Limpopo, and seen an increase of 80 cases year-on-year for the same period.
These figures were released in the 2023/24 third quarter crime statistics by the national police led by Minister Bheki Cele on Friday.
Based on information provided by the city’s community policing forum (CPF) in recent weeks, more cases of vehicle break-ins are reported daily, chairperson Rudolph Phasawana recently remarked.
The forum plays the role of advising city police regarding priorities, identifying community safety matters, and resolving problems and complaints from community members.
Four weeks ago, 17 cases of theft out of a motor vehicle were recorded, 13 cases two weeks ago and four more cases three weeks ago, he added.
Vehicle theft has also seen an increase in recent times, Phasawana confirmed, with four vehicles stolen three weeks ago in the CBD and another three two weeks later. This, he said, was a worrying pattern as vehicle theft cases in Limpopo were usually only sporadic.
In his address, Cele confirmed that nationally, there was a 3,5% decline in most types of theft including that of motor vehicles across all police stations, thanks to a continuous crime ridding operation at provincial levels dubbed ‘Shanela’.
“It is on this score that police stations must be further empowered and equipped to carry out weekly high visibility operations.
“These include among other strategies, frequent foot patrols for the prevention of these contact crimes in our communities,” he remarked.
In a public statement recently, the forum advised vehicle owners to guard against vehicle washers with ulterior motives, and they also flagged the vicinity of the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital entrance and inner CBD as hotspots based on the increasing case numbers in these areas.
“Exercise caution when approached by individuals offering car wash services in parking areas, and consider using reputable and established car wash facilities with proper infrastructure and security measures,” the statement reads.
In other crime related news, a 29-year-old man who was charged with trespassing in a home at Hans Van Rensburg Street, appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
Based on court records, the man was found hiding in the ceiling of a house on December 29 after an alarm went off and officers came to assist.
He was subsequently handed over to police. The owners of the property were not home at the time the incident occurred.
The accused, a father to a nine-year-old girl, pleaded guilty to the charges of housebreak-in and explained that this had been the result of having hunted for odd jobs without much success and the need to care for his family. Once he was inside the house, he started looking for food, he told the court.
Bail was denied based on the accused’s record of previous convictions.
