There has been a spate of vehicle thefts at Durbanville’s Majik Forest.
Within the past two months, three vehicles have been stolen at the park, according to Durbanville police spokesman Captain Marchell Rhode.
Some members of the public have complained on the Durbanville Community Police Forum’s Facebook page about poor security in the area. One of them, a woman who did not want her name published, said her car had been stolen there in April last year.
“I no longer visit the park. The whole ordeal was just extremely frustrating and traumatic to be honest. The safety is amazing inside of the gates of the forest, it’s really great and security is awesome inside. However, outside of that gate it’s each man for himself,” she said.
On the day that her car was stolen she was attending a school event, which was held at the forest.
“I had spoken to the security there the day prior and they’d told me we could park on the red lines, which are just outside the gate. I asked if it’s not illegal, and he said yes, but it’s an event and they would let us because there was a lot of cars. So I parked there. About 30 minutes later, I was waiting at the gate for family of mine, who were joining, and then two traffic cops pull up and started handing out tickets,” she said.
She then decided to park her car on the grass area just past the entrance to Klein D’Aria.
“When I came out, about two hours later, everyone was leaving, and my car was gone. I thought I was just being silly and had forgotten where I parked. My dad came to pick me up and got the documents for the car, went straight to Durbanville SAPS. I was shaking and just a mess.
“My entire damn car was gone. The officer said their cases for stolen cars at Majik Forest are overloaded, no matter where you park there, and cars are stolen there constantly. He even brought out an officer who had his car stolen a year prior from the same spot I parked at.”
A few days later, she received a message from the police to say the case was closed.
“People are also constantly harassed at the park by the new vagrant men and woman that come and ‘car watch’, but I feel they could be linked to the cars getting stolen too. I have heard of three other people who have had their cars stolen there too,” she said.
Mayoral committee member for community services and health Patricia van der Ross said the City was aware of complaints on social media about three vehicle thefts and one theft from a vehicle since November last year.
“All four incidents seem to have occurred in Jip de Jager Drive, at the intersection with Van Riebeeckshof Drive. Please note that parking is not permitted at this intersection. This is demarcated by painted red lines across the area and any vehicles illegally parked may be fined.”
Visitors could find secure parking at the Durbanville Protea Hotel and Door de Kraal Dam in Angelier Street, she said.
According to Google Maps, the Durbanville Protea Hotel is 5.2km away from the forest while Door de Kraal Dam is 5.3km away.
Asked what could be done to improve safety, the woman who spoke to Northern News she said: “They can designate parking areas that are safer. The issue is that the other parking areas are quite far away. It used to be legal years ago, then they painted the red lines, as far as I’m aware. It is right by the gate. People with dogs, runners, etc don’t want to park all the way at the hotel.
“I do also feel security needs to be outside the gate manning cars too. No one is safe there. I refuse to go if I’m too scared I walk out without a car again.“
Captain Marchell Rhode urged visitors to avoid leaving any valuables in their cars.
He added: “Please do not park illegally at the Jip de Jager entrance. There is no dedicated security allocated, and this also causes unnecessary congestion.”