Despite local residents living in the Laudium and Erasmia area paying monthly fees to monitor and close off their streets with security gates and paying and hiring guards to monitor some of the gates out of desperation, due to the high crime in the area, crime in these areas still continues.
While the local police and CPF still refuse to keep the community informed, on a weekly basis, concerning crime stats and current crime trends, so that residents can at least be warned and try to take the necessary measures to protect themselves, thankfully, the Laudium Sun still receives some crime news from residents, for stats purposes.
In one of the latest crimes committed in the area, a house in the gated area of Erasmia was broken into by two thieves, believed to be black males, while the owner and his family were away for the long weekend. It is believed that the criminals entered the Bart Joubert Street property on Sunday night (April 20) at around 9pm, as that is the time that a neighbour heard a strange noise and saw two black males who were acting suspiciously near the house. The thieves managed to break into the outer building of the property stealing a number of items and cash from the property. Homeowner, Younus Mohammed explained further to the Laudium Sun: “I went out with my family for the long weekend and before leaving made sure to lock all the rooms in the house and the front gate. When we got back on Monday, I was shocked to find that our place had been broken into.
It seems that the thieves managed to lift the front gate to gain access to our premises. They then broke the front door of the outer building and entered the place. I am not sure why the thieves did not enter the main house, but all I can say is that thankfully, they weren’t able to get into the main house. However, these thieves stole a lot of valuable household items, including some cash we kept for running expenses.”
Younus stated further, “One of my neighbours suspects there were at least two criminals involved. We’ve seen similar incidents happen at other houses in the area before. I am not sure if these thieves were watching my house and knew that we were away, but I can say for now that the state of crime in Erasmia is really concerning. Despite having a gated system blocking off our streets, break-ins are happening too often. There should be more police patrols and a stronger crime prevention unit. Right now, it feels like these police guys are just drawing salaries and doing nothing. We, as a community must stand united—regardless of our backgrounds—to fight against crime.”
Bilal Mohammed, also a resident of Bart Joubert Street in Erasmia, shared his thoughts with the Laudium Sun following the recent break-in at the home of Younus, “To witness crime happening every day in and around Laudium and Erasmia is truly heart-breaking. As a community, we seem to be failing time and again at the hands of these criminals. What happened at Younus’s place is terrible. Based on what I know and past incidents with similar patterns, I strongly believe there were two thieves involved in this case as well. The so-called gate security system is simply not working as we are not secured. Many break ins are still happening in gated areas—so what’s the point of having a gated community if crime still occurs almost daily? We need more effective crime measures and real action to protect our homes and families.”
Riaz Habib, another resident of Bart Joubert Street, told the Laudium Sun, “Crime is really high in Erasmia, and the gating system is not helping much. The organisation that was awarded the contract for the gating system is failing us. It was poorly planned from the start, and that’s the main reason why it hasn’t been effective in preventing crime. We feel let down and unprotected.”
Attempts to get hold of Pritesh Bhana of the Erasmia CPF, for comment, were unsuccessful.