VISIBLE policing (VISPOL) commander at Umbilo SAPS, Lt Col Stanley Perumall, has urged the community to be aware that crime is on the increase in the Durban area.
“It is evident and it is something we cannot ignore. There has been an increase in theft of and out of motor vehicles, and housebreaking residential and business is on the rise. The public needs to become more vigilant and aware of their surroundings, and more security conscious. Lock up at night, don’t leave doors open because of the hot weather, and don’t leave valuables outside,” he said.
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Perumall said flats and complexes were becoming targets of crime and body corporates needed to beef up security, including beams, alarms and employing security guards. He said people living on floors above the ground floor were also targets and opportunistic criminals were still gaining access to these flats.
Successes
Lt Col Perumall said from Friday 2 to Thursday 8 February, officers at Umbilo had made good arrests.
For housebreaking residential, there was one arrest, there was one arrest for rape, seven for prostitution, one for driving under the influence, three for being in possession of property suspected to be stolen and 18 for possession of dagga and heroin.
He said the station was conducting intensive operations with the relaunch of Operation Fiela, and officers would be conducting roadblocks and stop-and-search operations on a daily basis.
Good arrest
A MAN was arrested for being in possession of a stolen vehicle and car breaking implements on 31 January.
Const Sabelo Vezi and his team were patrolling the area at around 12.30pm when they noticed a blue Honda Ballade which didn’t stop at a stop street, and the officers suspected something was wrong.
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“We followed the vehicle and signalled for the driver to stop. When we asked for his driver’s licence he said he had forgotten it at home. We told him he would have to accompany us to the station where he would be issued a ticket. We searched the vehicle and found car breaking implements under the driver’s seat. When questioned about this, the man told us he had got the car from someone from Ntuzuma,” said Vezi.
The man was taken to the station where the owner of the car was reporting the vehicle as stolen. The suspect was arrested.
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