Despite spending a lot of money on installing security gates to close off streets and to hire security guards to monitor certain exit points, residents living in various neighbourhoods of Laudium and Erasmia are fast realising that they have to step up their game in securing their areas.
It is evident by the recent spate of crimes taking place within the gated areas, that the security gates in these areas, are not enough to keep criminals away from these respective neighbourhoods. Residents are also realising that criminals are either watching their homes and movements or obtaining information about their homes, with criminals seemingly even knowing when residents are away for a day or even longer. This follows yet another burglary of a home in a gated area recently, where the owners were away for a few days, believing that their home was secured as it is in a neighbourhood which is gated with streets closed or monitored by guards on a 24 hour basis. It was only when the owners of a 5th Ave home returned from their trip this past Saturday evening, (Jan 25th), at around 6:45PM, that they realised their home had been broken into and ransacked with thieves stealing a number of valuables, including money and jewellery. Homeowner, Rahima Iqbal explained further to the Laudium Sun, “My husband and I were not around when the break-in into our home took place as we were away for a few days, and there was no one in the house. It was really shocking for us, as we thought with the security gates closing off the streets, that our home would be safe from criminal attacks. But now we realise that even with these security gates no home is safe, as these thieves managed to get in somehow, without anyone in the area noticing them coming in or leaving. Even the security guard posted at the one gate to allow cars to come in and go out, does not know anything about who broke-in, nor saw anyone suspicious entering the gated area. These greedy thieves stole a lot of our things as they searched all our cupboards for valuables. All our jewellery and the cash that we kept at home for running expenses were also stolen. The criminals gained entry into our home after breaking through a window on the other side of the house, possibly after jumping over the wall.
We are not sure how many thieves were involved, but I strongly believe it wasn’t the work of just one person, judging by the number of goods stolen. It was likely a two- or three-man job. Crime is really getting out of and in Laudium, and we as a community must take action to protect ourselves at all costs. There should be CCTV cameras on all streets, as this would help to catch the criminals breaking into homes. Thankfully the Laudium Sun at least reports on some of the crimes taking place in Laudium, so that we as residents have an idea of the crime stats as the local police do not give any information on crime stats in our area.” Another resident of 5th Ave and neighbour, Shaun Pillay told the Laudium Sun, “There are a lot of break-ins happening often in Laudium, and it’s really sad to see how Laudium is going from bad to worse. The recent theft at our neighbour’s house shocked us, as we could be the next victim and to think these criminals were right next door to us and we did not hear anything. Also, we thought that we were all safe seeing that the area is now gated, but clearly just as we plan to secure our area, so do these criminals plan as to how to break through our security and get into our area. The police must patrol our streets frequently so that we feel safe and can move freely. The security guards at the gates must do their job properly, and any suspicious activity should be reported to the police or the residents in the neighbourhood.”
Another neighbour to Rahima, Razina Natha, told the Laudium Sun, “The break-in at our neighbour’s home is really scary, more so with our streets being closed. We heard that these thieves stole a lot of valuables, yet they managed to evade the residents and even the guard posted at the gate used to enter the area. Crime in Laudium has once more become a major concern, and together we must act before it’s too late to stop all this. We need to put more security guards at the gates so that they can rigorously check every movement.”
