It is rather unfortunate that despite the ongoing crime in the Laudium area, the local police and the Laudium CPF choose to remain silent.
Despite the CPF supposedly meant to represent the community, residents are kept in the dark concerning actual crime stats on a weekly basis, crime trends and crime hotspots. Thus the Laudium Sun, being the only community paper distributed in the area, has to wherever possible, rely on crime news from various other sources for stats purposes, in order to keep the community informed. As many victims of crime are reluctant to speak out or even report crime to the police, for fear of reprisals, the weekly crime news published by the Laudium Sun, seems to be only ‘the tip of the iceberg’ regarding the actual crime happenings.
In one of the latest incidents of crime reported to the Laudium Sun, a motor vehicle was stolen last Friday morning (May 16), shortly before midday. It is believed that two African males managed to enter the security gated street and steal a white Toyota Corolla Verso (WVL 171 GP), parked in front of Saras Padayachey’s house on Mendhi Street in Laudium.
Laudium home (File photo).
Saras who spoke to the Laudium Sun on condition that her photo not be published, said, “It was a really bad day for us. My friend’s car was stolen right in front of my house in broad daylight, despite there being a street security gate and security guards on our street. My friend, who was visiting me from Johannesburg, had just parked his car in front of my house at around 11:10am We were talking while he sat on the couch in the lounge. After about five minutes, I am not sure what made me look outside, but that’s when I was shocked to see two black males driving away with his car. I screamed and alerted the security guard, asking him to chase the vehicle, but the guard was on a bicycle and couldn’t catch up. As it was a car that was stolen, we reported the theft to the Laudium Police Station and I really hope a proper investigation will be conducted to help us recover the car, as soon as possible. I also urge the Laudium Sun to assist in spreading the word, to help us find the vehicle. Crime on our street is really high. Despite having security guards and a gated system, crime is not decreasing—in fact, it seems to be getting worse. There should be proper management of the security system and the security guards should be well-trained and properly equipped. I sincerely hope my friend will get his car back soon.”
Neighbour, Ali Mustafa of Mendhi Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I was very surprised to hear about the theft of the car from our street. This is really frightening. A lot of crime is happening on our street, even though we’ve paid for a gated system and private security guards. The crime is simply not stopping. A few months ago, a 9-year-old child was kidnapped and since then, things haven’t improved at all. This crime situation must change —we need more than just security guards. We need active police patrols on our street. Since installing the gating system and hiring private security, it’s almost like we, as community members, have started believing that we don’t need the police anymore. But the truth is, we do. I don’t trust the current gating system or the procedures being followed. We need proper protection with the police patrolling and even monitoring our private security. Otherwise, we’re not really protected.”
Victor Molongwane, the guard from Khan’s Security, who was on duty when the car was stolen from Mendhi Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I was patrolling the street as usual on my bicycle and had just passed the house where the car was stolen. Unfortunately, it all happened so quickly and I wasn’t able to stop the thieves, who were both black African males. By the time the car owner called me to check on the vehicle driving out, it had already been driven off the street. I just couldn’t catch up with them in time, as I was on a bicycle.”
