It is clear to many residents that the Laudium CPF has failed the community in addressing the concerns the community has with the Laudium Police, regarding the ongoing crime and the poor service that residents receive from the police.
Seemingly, the Laudium CPF under the chair of Shaheen Wahab, is more interested in posting selfies of themselves, instead of working with the police to address the fears and concerns of the community.
In fact, speculation is rife that many CPF members are in cahoots with the police, in order to be in the ‘good books’ of the police, so that the CPF members can call up favours for the police to release their friends whenever they are in trouble with the law.
This follows the CPF yet to make a public statement as to how they are addressing the many complaints made to them by residents, concerning lack of police patrols, poor response time by police, lack of proper police investigations, corrupt police officials, drug dealers known to the police and CPF members who continue to trade in the area, etc, etc.
In yet another complaint against the local police, a homeowner complained to the Laudium Sun and apparently also to the CPF, about the poor police response he received, after he realised that his home had been broken into. The break-in was believed to have taken place last Friday early morning (May 2), when the owner of the Violet Str home in Laudium was away with his family for a few days and a tenant living on the property heard some strange noises, but did not investigate further. According to one of the residents living nearby, he saw a ‘Coloured’ looking person near the house, who was acting suspiciously late Thursday evening, but did not think at the time that he was an intruder. A number of items were stolen from the house, including 3 ‘Guess’ watches and a quantity of jewellery. According to the tenant, the break in occurred sometime after midnight. The intruder is believed to have jumped over the front gate and forced open the front door to gain access to the house.
away for the long weekend, with jewellery and designer watches among the items stolen.
Mohammed Ebrahim of Violet Street, told the Laudium Sun, “My family and I were not at home during the break-in, as we had left to KZN for a family gathering. When we returned on Sunday (May 4), I found our front door had been broken and forced open. Upon entering the house, I realised that there had been a break-in and that a number of items had been stolen. I immediately called the police. I questioned my tenant, who was at the property during the holidays. He said he heard some noises early Friday morning, but didn’t suspect it was a break-in at the time. What’s even more frustrating is that when I reported the incident to the Laudium SAPS at 5:45pm. on Sunday afternoon, they took over an hour to arrive. The forensic team also took a long time to come and investigate. Honestly, the response from the Laudium SAPS was slow and I really believe that we need more active and responsive police members serving our community. I even had to contact the Laudium CPF to request them to assist in getting the police team to come sooner to my house. I suspect a known individual living on our street may be involved in the theft, although I prefer not to name anyone at this stage, without proof. I urge the Laudium SAPS to investigate this incident of theft thoroughly and to ensure that the person responsible is brought to justice.”
Violet Street resident, Zarina Tayob, told the Laudium Sun, “This crime problem in Laudium seems to be going on and on, with no solution. We want to live as a peaceful community with no crime, and that’s only possible if we receive the right support from our community leaders. Crime in Laudium does not seem to be stopping. I hope that we will have the right leadership so that we can build a safer and better Laudium in the future.”
hopes that ‘we will have the right leadership so that we can build a safer and better Laudium in the future.’
Levine Naidoo, also a resident of Violet Street, told the Laudium Sun, “Crime is really bad in our area—there are incidents of crime happening almost every day, especially break ins. I want the Laudium SAPS to take stronger action against these criminals and to do more police patrols in our area. I hope that we can get the right leaders so that Laudium will become a better place for all law-abiding residents.”