House robbery in Witpoortjie

On Sunday, May 7, an alleged house robbery took place at a private residence.

According to Warrant Officer Dave Stanton, Honeydew Police’s communications officer, the complainant was allegedly inside the house when he noticed blue lights flashing outside. He was then approached by two males and a female claiming to be police officers.

Also read: Couple assaulted and tied up during house robbery

After gaining entry to the house the suspects allegedly overpowered the resident and stole ‘various household items’.

Also read: Georginia house robbery victim suffers with PTSD and the physical and emotional fallout

“A case of house robbery has been opened by the complainant, and is currently being investigated by Roodepoort Detective Branch,” confirmed Stanton.

Stanton also gave a few guidelines for the community to use when identifying a police official:

All officers are strictly mandated to be in possession of a Police Appointment Certificate while on duty and to furnish this immediately as a valid means of identification on request by the public.

This applies to both uniformed members, and to detectives or special units who may work in civilian clothing. Failure of any police officer to identify themselves by producing an Appointment Certificate can be used as a method of identifying impersonators of police officers.

Furthermore, police officers wearing police uniforms are strictly compelled by Police National Instruction to each wear a clearly visible name badge on their right chest. This too can be used to identify impersonators. For personal reference, it is advised to note down the chest badge names of police officers during any official interaction.