“Residents of Bedfordview are not doing enough to protect themselves against house burglaries and robberies”.
This is according to the Bedfordview SAPS communications officer, Sergeant Mduduzi Nhlabati.
“The recent robberies and burglaries reported show an element of lack of precaution. Victims have left their gates open, left their homes without activating their alarms or leaving their electric fences off,” said Sgt Nhlabati.
“However, one of the most concerning measures residents are not following is doing a background check of their domestic workers and garden servers. Residents should verify, then keep documentation, of who their workers are, or the details and information of the garden service owner,” said Sgt Nhlabti.
“Their identity, where they are from and their previous employment should be of importance to residents who employ workers. We often receive calls of house burglaries occurring after a garden service departs from a residential premises,” added Sgt Nhlabathi.
Sgt Nhlabati urged residents to take every precaution possible to prevent burglaries and robberies.
“In some cases we find that after a robbery or house burglary takes place, it is the last time a domestic worker or gardener works on that premises. When the SAPS attempts to run a background check on these workers, no information can be provided by the employers,” said Sgt Nhlabathi.
According to Sgt Nhlabathi, in other cases it has been found that a home-owner fires a worker and then several weeks later, the home-owners are a victim of a house burglary. With no basic information of the dismissed worker, no further investigations can be followed.
“Know who you are employing because it is important that residents take note of these opportunities for crime. I think that by taking this safety measure, residents can help the SAPS tighten the chances for crime,” said Sgt Nhlabathi. @BedfordJourno
