Gang of thieves party in Erasmia… another house ransacked… this time on Party Str… calls for Cops, CPF & Cllr Patel to account

It is evident that the time is now, more than ever, for Erasmia residents to demand that the local police, the CPF and the ANC’s Ward Councillor for the area, Cllr Patel, formulate a plan of action to curb the high rate of crime in the area, especially house break-ins.

While many residents claim that the fast-growing squatter camp nearby, known as ‘Ntswane Village,’ has contributed to the recent spate of crime, especially in the Erasmia residential area, those in authority, including the ANC-led Tshwane Council, are conveniently remaining silent, seemingly to gain votes from the squatters, in the forthcoming elections. Thus, the community remains in the dark as to what measures, if any, are in place to deal with the influx of people into the area, especially illegal foreigners and the unemployed.

In one of the recent reports received by the Laudium Sun, concerning crime in the area, yet another break-in has taken place by a gang of thieves. This time the gang broke into an Erasmia property divided into two residential sections, on Party Street, last Sunday evening at around 10:50pm. According to reports, at least three Black males entered the property by jumping over the front wall, gaining entry into the one section of the house by breaking open the back kitchen door and thereafter ransacking the house looking for valuables. Despite security in the area, the gang managed to leave the property freely after stealing a number of valuables including, branded clothing, electrical & electronic items and jewelry, amongst others.

Resident, Pree Moodley, who is one of the tenants at the Party Street house, told the Laudium Sun, “I was inside my apartment when I suddenly heard a loud noise coming from outside late at night. I immediately went out to check what was happening and managed to see three Black guys jumping over our fence and running away. Later, after checking the yard, we realised that a break-in took place at my neighbour’s apartment, which is in the same yard as mine, after discovering that their back kitchen door had been broken and opened. This made the situation very frightening for my family and I living here. As the neighbour’s are often away and were not at home at the time, we went into their apartment to see what had happened. It was clear that their place had been ransacked by the thieves, as it was in a mess. My neighbours are not sure what exactly had been stolen, as they are out of the country, but from what I gathered going into their apartment, valuable items such as electronic goods and a lot of clothing were missing. There were also empty jewellery boxes on the floor, which indicated that jewellery was also stolen. It seems that the thieves spent a great deal of time in the place, before running off with the items they had stolen. I believe that these thieves had placed the items stolen into bags and passed it over the fence to someone waiting outside, before they jumped over. Crime in our area has really gone bad lately. Almost each day, we hear about break-ins, which makes us feel very unsafe in this place. Many residents are afraid to stay in this area, because of the high crime rate and it is now becoming very difficult for us to live peacefully. We feel like prisoners in our own homes because we are always worried about being attacked by criminals. More and more unknown strangers are seen walking or loitering on our streets each day and some of them could be timing our homes when passing by. I cannot understand why these loiterers are not searched by the police as there is a lot of fear and tension among residents, especially at night when break-ins like this happen. We also do not see police vehicles or community patrollers on our street and it feels like this place has been forgotten. We really need more police visibility and support so that we can feel safe again in our community.”

Ayesha Wadi of Party Street, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard about the theft that took place near my house. I remember hearing unusual noises that night, which made me feel uneasy. The people who live on the one part of the property are not here often and I believe that is why these thieves took advantage of the situation, knowing that the premises was more vulnerable and less monitored. The crime in our area has become so intense and we are unable to live freely anymore because there is constant movement of unknown people on our street at all hours, especially since the squatter camp has grown. This makes it difficult for us to feel secure, especially when we do not know who belongs here and who might have bad intentions. We are always alert and cautious and it feels like we cannot relax even inside our own homes. Residents from this community do report these crimes and the police the CPF and the politicians are well aware of what is happening, but nothing seems to be done about all the crime. We feel so frustrated because there is no visible improvement concerning policing and it seems like our concerns are not being taken seriously. The lack of police action in being pro-active against criminals makes us feel so helpless. There should be more visible policing, better monitoring of the area and quicker police response when incidents are reported.”