Despite pleas from residents for police to beef up patrols in the area, especially during curfew time, as it is evident that crime spikes during this time, police seem not to be interested in the resident’s pleas and are seemingly staying indoors in the charge office, apparently observing a self-imposed curfew.
Also worrisome is that the local CPF is non-functional or has also gone into a self-imposed curfew, as they have become unreachable, since the resignation of the Chair, Imraan Ahmed and the Deputy Chair Shaheen Osman.
Even during the adjusted level 4 lockdown regulations, with curfew being from 9pm to 4am, it seems that criminals are freely roaming the streets of Laudium, during this time, with no sign of police patrolling the streets.
This follows a local pensioner experiencing first hand, the fear of being attacked in her own home, in Laudium, this past Sunday, during the curfew hours. Sabera Abed of 38th Avenue told the Laudium Sun, “Last night [Sunday, July 04] at around 11:30 pm, I was helping my husband get into the room from the lounge, as he is old and not well. He needs help with everything. As I was walking him towards the room, we both suddenly heard a strange noise that was coming from outside. It sounded like someone was trying to jump over our wall. I had a bad feeling about it. After leaving my husband in the room, I peeped through the window as I was too scared to go outside and my husband is elderly. I saw one guy, on the wall trying to get over the fence and into my yard. After spotting me, he lost balance while on the wall and fell. But, he quickly got up and ran away, running in the direction of the Military Road. The guy seemed to be the same nyaope person who tried to steal from our yard before, as we have a lot of scrap metal stored in our garage. I have told my husband many times to get rid of these things, because he is now retired due to ill health, so he can’t work with them anymore. He used to be a mechanic, but now as an 80-year-old, with all these old-age sicknesses, he must throw away these things. The metal is attracting these nyaope guys and they probably want to sell it at a scrapyard to make a quick buck. But, with that being said, the police must do their job. During curfew hours, how can a thief walk around so freely and not be arrested? We are living in fear. I read many articles in the Laudium Sun, with residents complaining about the poor work ethic of our local police. When will this change? When will the police prove us wrong for not believing in them? I have not reported the matter to the police as nothing was stolen.”
Sergeant Simon Chokoe, of the Laudium SAPS said, “The community is urged to phone the police immediately if they see someone walking around during curfew times. Also, be aware of any suspicious activity in the area, and let the police know as we do not have enough manpower to be everywhere at the same time. So, informing the police will alert us as to where we should be.”
