Despite claims by the CPF’s of Laudium and Erasmia, which are both unfortunately overseen by the ANC’s Shaheen Wahab, as sector head, crime in these areas continues, leaving many residents with sleepless nights.
CPFs fall under the respective provincial MEC’s as political heads and in Gauteng the ANC political head is responsible for CPFs in the province.
This follows residents in Erasmia asking once again, just where are the police and CPF patrollers as crime continues, despite many of the neighbourhoods in the area being gated and even walled off.
In one of the recent reports of crime received by the Laudium Sun, a thief or thieves, managed to enter a property, shortly after midnight without being noticed by any of the patrollers. The thief managed to steal a solar light from the property on Vrolikspruit Street in Erasmia.
Homeowner, Tariq Mall, of Vrolikspruit Street in Erasmia, told the Laudium Sun, “The previous Sunday at around 1 am, my caretaker heard some noises coming from the front gate side. He was awake at the time, but thought it was just some noises coming from the street, so he didn’t go out to check. I suspect that this was when the theft occurred. It seems some thief deliberately came to steal the solar light from our front gate. The solar light costs around R1000, so it’s a definite loss for us. Crime is very high on our street and unfortunately, due to the negligence of the local anti-crime patrollers, we don’t see many patrols in our area. Crime is really increasing and there need to be proper rules and regulations to combat this ongoing crime, by the relevant security players in Erasmia. It’s getting very dangerous in our area and we’re literally afraid to go for walks, even during the day, because the area is so quiet and isolated. Thieves find it easy to steal from households here. This crime must stop and for that we, as a community must stand together to fight it. We must not give these criminals a chance.”
Tony Bechan of Vrolikspruit Street, told the Laudium Sun, “Crime is really increasing on our street, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. The recent solar light theft is clear evidence that things are getting worse by the day. Almost every day we hear about something happening in our area and it’s never for a good reason. Criminals treat our street like a playground for their crimes. Today it’s a solar light, tomorrow these very thieves could enter our homes and attack us. We are living in constant fear. This has to stop. Just how long must we live like prisoners in our own homes?”
Ozair Osman, another resident of Vrolikspruit Street, told the Laudium Sun, “Criminals are taking advantage of our soft nature, but we as residents of Erasmia must show them that we are not afraid. If we continue to show weakness, they will only take further advantage of us. The crime has to stop though. We cannot continue living like this, fearing for our lives every single day and night. No one should have to live in constant fear like this.”
