Just when will the heads of the seemingly incompetent Laudium and Erasmia CPFs be removed and replaced by those who care for the community and understand what their mandate is, regarding fighting crime in the area?
This is the question many residents are asking as crime in the area continues, while the concerns of the community are blatantly being ignored. It is evident that CPF heads, many of whom, are active ANC members, are busy promoting the ANC and in particular, ANC Councillor Naeem Patel and seem to be less focused on fighting crime in the area. This follows, this week, residents complaining to the Laudium Sun yet again, about crime in the area, with one of the latest being a house break-in that occurred last Sunday night, shortly before midnight. This time, two Black males entered the 12th Ave Laudium home of Basheer Ebrahim, by forcefully opening the front door, despite the home being in a gated security street. The thieves stole a big screen TV, expensive perfumes, cash and other valuables, while the family was away for the weekend.
A despondent Basheer Ebrahim told the Laudium Sun, “My family and I were not at home that weekend. When we returned on Monday, I noticed that something was not right because my front door was not properly closed. I immediately became concerned and realised that there could have been a break-in at my house. I then did a quick check through all the rooms and it became obvious that our home was targeted by thieves, as the house had been ransacked, with cupboard doors open and drawers and clothes laying on the floor. I then checked my CCTV footage to try to figure out what had happened. That is when I saw that two Black male thieves broke my front door and lock to gain entry into my house. I felt shocked and really, really disturbed seeing how easily they managed to enter my home. I could clearly see from the footage that they forced their way inside without any hesitation. As my family and I went through the rooms, we realised that a number of items were stolen, including a big screen TV, an amount of cash and my perfumes from my bedroom. It is so frustrating to know that our valuables were stolen in such an easy manner, with the thieves seemingly not bothered about being caught by the police, as they calmly went from room to room. As I do not have cameras facing the street, I did not get any footage showing how the thieves arrived at my property, which makes it even more concerning for me. I presume that the thieves must have come with a car because the big TV would not have been easy to carry if they were on foot. I strongly believe that they used a vehicle to come and commit this crime at my house. This makes me believe that these crimes are more organised than people think. Crime is just getting too much in Laudium and although we read about it in the Laudium Sun, it only hits hard when one actually experiences it. The thought that some criminals invaded our home and transgressed our privacy, is most revolting. Even though our area is fully gated, it is not helping at all, as clearly these thieves entered our home without being spotted and left with goods that they stole, including a huge screen TV without being spotted. This is very worrisome. There seems to be no law and order in Laudium as criminals are roaming around freely and doing whatever they please. It seems that these criminals are watching our homes as they know who is away and even know who comes home at what time. We do not feel safe in Laudium anymore because crime is increasing so much. I believe that not enough is being done by the police, the CPF and the politicians to improve safety in our area, because many residents like my family and I, are living in fear and having sleepless nights.”
Suresh Chetty of 12th Avenue, told the Laudium Sun, “I feel deeply unsettled by the break-in at my neighbour’s house, while they were away for the weekend. Our streets are fully gated and we have always believed that these measures would offer us some level of protection, as clearly we cannot depend on the poor police patrols in our area. However, this incident has clearly shown that even with security gates on streets, criminals are still not deterred to enter properties and commit crime without fear. It is very troubling that despite all the efforts made by us residents to secure our homes, such incidents of crime are still taking place. We have invested in gates at our homes, security gates on the streets and taken many other precautions, yet it seems like none of these measures are strong enough to keep criminals out. The sense of safety we once had in this community is slowly disappearing and it is becoming harder to trust that our homes are secure. The brazen criminals are becoming more confident and more calculated in their actions. It feels as though they are not worried about being caught by the police, which raises serious questions about the level of law enforcement presence in our area. When criminals act so
boldly, it reflects a lack of visible policing and insufficient intervention from the authorities. The role of the police, the Ward Councillor and the Community Policing Forum is very important in situations like this, but from what I see, there is not enough being done by them to protect residents. I believe that more proactive steps need to be taken to prevent all this crime, rather than only responding some time later, after the damage has already been done. Regular patrols, stronger co-ordination and better communication with the community could make a difference. This situation is affecting the peace of mind of many families in Laudium, including mine.”
