Scottburgh Saps CPF reports back on year-to-date

The first Scottburgh Saps Community Policing Forum meeting of the year was held on Wednesday last week, February 13.

Scottburgh Saps and law enforcement were thanked by Councillor Eddie Baptie and other CPF members for the hard work and dedication shown during the festive season. Visible patrolling, and keeping control at the beaches received special mention.

According to the CPF, crime in general had decreased so far this year when compared to January 2018. Crimes which had increased included business burglary, aggravated robbery, assault and theft. Crimes that had remain at a constant level were stock theft, murder, rape and arson. Theft of motor vehicles seemed to be on the decrease when compared to the same period last year.
Taxi routes were still being monitored.

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House robberies seemed to be becoming more prevalent, especially in Scottburgh and Park Rynie. Station Commander, Colonel Ralph Ruiters said that one of the reasons for this was negligence. In most cases, it was discovered that the resident had not locked all doors and secured the windows.

We ask the public to ensure that their doors, gates and windows are always closed and/or locked. If possible, get a dog to protect you, fit burglar guards or install an alarm system,” he said.

Scottburgh Saps had been conducting raids on both legal and illegal liquor outlets to check on liquor licences and to keep control in the area. There were several taverns on the Park Rynie main road which Saps had labelled ‘problematic’. There would now be more blue light patrols by the police to make these business owners and customers aware that they were being monitored. More stops and searches would also be carried out.

Taverns operating until the early hours were resulting in the streets being strewn with broken glass bottles. Not only was this an eyesore, but it was also dangerous to pedestrians, more specifically children, and could also puncture vehicles’ tyres.
In addition, there had also been many complaints about the noise emanating from these taverns.

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Most of the complaints were from those living along the roads leading towards Scottburgh beach. It was believed that in Marine Terrace, Arbuthnot Street and Cordiner Street in particular, drivers revved their vehicles loudly, played blaring music and raced late into the night and into the early hours of the morning. Cllr Baptie suggested that the issuing of fines on a more regular basis could prove a deterrent to this behaviour.

The Park Rynie speed humps remained an issue. It had been noted that these are excessively high and continued to damage vehicles. This was evident from the many marks left on these humps by vehicles scraping across them. Superintendent Kevin Govender of Umdoni Protection Services said he would look into the matter and see if these could be reconstructed.

The issue of public drinking remained a problem, especially at the shebeens in the area. Col Ruiters said those caught drunk in public would be fined R500.

Cllr Baptie added that the prostitutes in Park Rynie and Preston were also still a problem. He said that last year he had tried to help these women seek employment elsewhere. One of the women had managed to find a job but said that most of the other women felt safer in that area and ‘knew what they were doing’ to make an income.

Police added that that in order to curb this problem, both the women and their clients would be arrested in the future. “Hopefully by ‘naming and shaming’ the clients, the problem will decrease,” said Col Ruiters.

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Acting CPF chairman, Reshwant Brijraj pointed out that there was a lot of prostitution near the high school in Umzinto and that this should be addressed before the situation spiralled out of control.

The Scottburgh Saps Youth Desk was congratulated and effusively praised for the work and projects undertaken so far in assisting the police with awareness campaigns for young people.

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