Don’t blame police if you don’t report crime

EDITOR – On Sunday, 24 August, I discovered that the back room on my property had been broken into.

I realised meat had been taken from the freezer which I store in that room and a few of my husband’s tools were missing too.

I never bothered reporting it because to me it was not that much missing and I dreaded having to go through the whole ordeal of opening a case at Montclair police station.

That night, my son asked if his bicycle was still there and I actually hadn’t even noticed it was missing. I spoke to Brenda Neal of Montclair Crime Eye and she said I should report it, which I did on Monday. What a pleasant surprise when I walked into Montclair police station and was attended to straight away by Mr Mbutho. He was so helpful and apologetic about my son’s bicycle. I then left and within the hour, I was contacted by a Detective Ntuli, who phoned to let me know they will do their best to recover the bicycle. Today I had investigating officer Mzolo and Constable Gumede pay me a visit at my home and both were so pleasant and asked for a photo of the bicycle so they could make and forward copies. They took a look around and gave me some advice on how to step up my security. I would like to thank these four police members for making a difference. You are a credit to Montclair police station.

I have also learned from this that every crime – no matter how small it is – should be reported so that the SAP are aware. So many people don’t report crimes and at the end of the day, the police are told they do nothing, when half the time, they haven’t been informed. Well done to those four dedicated staff members of Montclair police station, we need more like you.

B HARCOMBE

Woodlands