Police and local security companies have urged residents of Durbanville to report crimes that take place at the skate park next to the rugby field and squash club in Sports Road, instead of just complaining about it on social media.
An image of a group of men drinking at the park was shared through a neighbourhood watch Facebook page earlier this month and many residents commented on the picture, saying that their children were attacked in the area.
One resident, who did not want to be named, told the Northern News that children are constantly being robbed in the area.
“It isn’t safe to be alone or even in a small group at times because the space is very confined with only one gate. About three weeks ago there was a robbery where they took a guy’s bag in broad daylight while there were people at the park,” he said.
However, despite this police say no incidents have been reported in the past few weeks let alone a year.
Durbanville police spokesperson, Captain Marchell Rhode, said: “According to our knowledge, there have been no reports of robberies or assaults happening at the skate park. If residents have any cases then they need to report it to the police before we can implement any sort of policing.”
Neighbourhood watch and SAPS liaison representative for Basset Alarms, Hennie Groenewald, agreed with Captain Rhode and also urged that crimes are reported.
Mr Groenewald said: “Every Monday, we meet with SAPS and other relevant parties to discuss safety issues in the area and the skate-park has never come up for the simple fact that there are no crimes reported there. We do from time to time hear of incidents there but the last reported case came a few years ago.”
Mr Groenewald, who is a former police officer, added that these types of crimes need to be reported as it will help the police and Basset Alarms to identify key areas to focus on and provide better security.
He said: “The problem is that people are put off by having to go to the police station to report the crime and then having to go to court if needs be.”
