There were 11 serious crimes in Durbanville last month including a murder and several rapes.
This was discussed at the Durbanville Community Police Forum’s (DCPF) public meeting at the Durbanville library, on Thursday June 8.
Durbanville police station commander Colonel Mary Cupido said the crimes included the Eversdal murder (“Police investigate ‘unusual’ murder”, Northern News, May 18); one attempted murder; three rape cases; one hijacking in Langeberg Ridge and one armed robbery in Morningstar.
Durbanville police’s Warrant Officer Henk Roux said the roads around the sports ground – De Villiers Avenue, Wellington Road, Langeberg Road and Queen and Oxford streets – were hot spots for robberies, while thefts from cars plagued the CBD.
The area between the taxi rank and service station along Wellington Road and Morningstar was also a crime hot spot.
Warrant Officer Roux said licence plate recognition and CCTV cameras had proved their worth. It was also important to screen car guards at shopping centres and have a dedicated security vehicle patrolling the CBD.
Warrant Officer Roux said there had been several assaults (domestic and liquor related) and robberies in Fisantekraal.
Officers had to patrol the poorly-lit informal settlement on foot, he said, because it was mostly inaccessible to vehicles.
Warrant Officer Roux also reported that burglaries were a problem in Sonstraal Heights – particularly at security complexes and townhouses. He recommended the re-establishment of the neighbourhood watch and installation of cameras.WarrantOfficer Roux said joint police andneighbourhood watch operations over weekends were having an impact on crime in Durbanville.
DCPF acting chairman Glenn Schooling called on local security firms to consider splitting the CBD among themselves to ensure continuouspatrols there.
Sector 2 chairman Michael Engelbrecht said they had asked neighbourhood watches in the sector to include the CBD in their patrols.