Police are keeping an eye on the Durbanville skate park after a series of muggings there in recent weeks.
On Saturday November 20, at 4pm, a man and his friends were robbed while playing basketball at the park in De Villiers Road.
“They were threatened by two men who both had knives. They robbed the man and his friends of their cigarettes and their cellphones. The robbers also broke into their vehicle and stole jewellery to the value of R3180,” said Durbanville police spokesman Captain Marchell Rhode.
On Wednesday December 1, at 11pm, another man was robbed at the park of his cellphone by two men who threatened him with a sharp instrument.
On Saturday December 4, at 5pm, three muggers accosted a man who was injured when one of them stabbed him with a screwdriver. The man’s cellphone was stolen.
The skate park is City property and is part of the Durbanville sports precinct, according to Ward 112 councillor Theresa Uys.
“It is most concerning that the facility has been vandalised during the Covid lockdown period,” she said. “As part of the sports precinct upgrade, the skate park will be leased to a sporting body. However, the old drop-off site at the skate park has been fenced off in the meantime.”
Ms Uys could not confirm which sporting body the skate park would be leased to or when the public could expect to see the upgrades.
According to Captain Rhode, there is adequate fencing at the park, but the gate remains unlocked.
“Thus the gate is always open. There is a hole at the back of the park where they can crawl through, but it is easier to use the gate,” he said.
Durbanville Community Police Forum chairman Michael Engelbrecht said the park was a hot spot for opportunistic robberies.
“We have been informed that regular patrols are being done in the area based on the crime pattern analysis. Suspects have been identified and investigations continue with imminent arrests expected,” he said
Captain Rhode said police were doing extra patrols in the area, and he advised people not to visit the park on their own.