As crime in Laudium Ext 3 continues, residents in the area remain in constant anxiety, fearing that they could be the next target.
From house robberies to petty crime, residents are subjected to continuous attacks by thieves, as little or no policing exists in the area. Neither the local Police nor the CPF Patrollers, who are funded by the Gauteng Government and the community, are ever seen patrolling in the area, with residents fast losing faith in these security components. In one of the latest incidents of crime in the area, regarded as petty crime, a dustbin was stolen from a home on Delhi Avenue, Laudium Ext 3. The theft which occurred during the early morning of the previous Saturday, has left the owner furious, not so much because of the value of the dustbin stolen, but the fact that the thief had the audacity to enter his property and managed to get out freely with the dustbin.
in the early hours of a Saturday morning.
According to the homeowner, Ahmed Reeshad Shaik, the thief, a Black male, entered his yard shortly before sunrise, at around 4:30am, by jumping over the wall between that of his property and his neighbour.
Ahmed told the Laudium Sun, “It was early in the morning on Saturday, when I woke up for the morning prayer. At around 4:30am during the prayer, I heard a strange noise coming from my yard, but I did not think it was anything serious. In fact I thought it must have been a cat in the yard. However, later in the morning, when I went outside into my yard, I was shocked to see that the dustbin was not there. Thinking perhaps it was not kept in the same position the previous day, I went all around the property, but could not find the dustbin. That is when I realised that the bin had been stolen. I checked with my neighbour, Uzayr, to check if he saw anyone suspicious near my house. He then told me that he heard a strange noise on his roof at around the same time I heard the noise, which was about 4:30am. It seems that the thief must have climbed onto my neighbour’s roof and then jumped over the wall into my yard. It’s really disconcerting. Nowadays thieves don’t even spare a dustbin! It shows how desperate they’ve become to steal from our homes. I am really furious, not so much for the loss of the dustbin, but the fact that this thief had the audacity to enter my yard with the intention of stealing anything he could get his hands on. Crime is extremely high in our area of Laudium Ext 3 and we are really tired of the ongoing thefts happening every single day. We hardly see the police patrolling in our area. From what I know, petty crime like stealing dustbins, gate motors, and other small items, often involve buyers in White Blocks and Itireleng. If those buyers stop purchasing stolen goods from these thieves, the crime rate could go down. Unfortunately, we don’t focus enough on that angle. The illegal buyers who purchase stolen items are increasing in Laudium and the irony is that not only are the law enforcement guys not raiding their places, but they are friends with these buyers of stolen goods. So, I believe the issue is not just about catching the thieves, but also about catching the illegal buyers. That’s the only way crime can really be reduced.”
Neighbour of Ahmed, Uzayr Karimullah, told the Laudium Sun, “I heard a strange noise at around 4:30am coming from my roof, but I ignored it, as I thought it might be a cat walking up there or perhaps just the wind. However, when I later heard about the theft of the bin from Ahmed’s yard, I realised that the sound I heard was likely when the thief jumped over into Ahmed’s yard and stole his dustbin. Crime is extremely high in this area and we need proper police patrolling in our neighbourhood.”
Delhi Avenue resident, Aman Malik, told the Laudium Sun, “The level of crime in our area has become too high and we as residents are living in constant fear. We really need proper and consistent law enforcement to patrol our streets and take stronger action against criminals, as presently we do not even see the police patrols. Many of us believe that part of the reason for the high number of thefts and burglaries, is the proximity of the Itireleng squatter camp. If the authorities paid more attention to this issue, crime in Laudium could be reduced, making the community safer for everyone.”
