Laudium residents living outside gated area fear that they are being segregated from living peacefully

Concern about the ongoing crime in the Laudium area is mounting, as more and more areas are becoming gated, with residents living in the un-gated areas feeling very vulnerable to criminal attacks.

increased in their area, especially petty crime, with most residents however not even bothered to report these crimes to the local police. Residents say that there seems to be an increase in the number of nyaopes and vagrants walking the streets in the areas not gated and are thus afraid of falling victim to crime. This follows a recent desperate call for assistance by a local resident, Sureiya Mahomed who claimed that thieves had entered her family home in Laudium, on the corner of 14th Ave and Cuprene Street. According to a family friend, Sureiya was at home the previous Saturday with family, when she smelt a strange odour in the house at around midday. When she went downstairs to check what was happening, she realised that a handbag that was on a table was missing. On further investigation she found the kitchen door had been forcefully opened as it was broken. According to reports a nyaope found an ID that was in the handbag and returned it to Sureiya the following day. When the Laudium Sun spoke to Sureiya about the incident, she said, “I prefer not to say much for security reasons, but I just hope that with all these gates coming up on the streets, our houses will also be included, otherwise we will become targets of these criminals, as the area for free movement for them becomes smaller and smaller.” Laudium CPF chairperson Shaheen Wahab said, “We once more appeal to residents who have fallen victim to crime to report all crime even if it is a petty crime. Otherwise we cannot help solve the crime situation in the Laudium area. Just remember, police resources are distributed according to crime stats. The higher the crime stats the more the resources. I know that even though as many residents will not believe it, presently the Laudium police precinct is regarded as one of the lowest crime areas in the region. This is because our people are not reporting incidents of crime to the local police.”