Lita Jacobsen, chairperson of the Paulshof Hill Residents’ Association, a branch of the Paulshof Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association (PRRA), said the Paulshof community was aware that the area around Cambridge bridge on Witkoppen Road had been a smash and grab hotspot for many years. To address the issue, the Paulshof community proposed that the various security companies in the area should take shifts to patrol Witkoppen Road to prevent further smash-and-grabs from happening.
Security companies ADT, iMvula, RSS and Savika are all on board with the idea and on 27 January iMvula started off the roster with a high visibility patrol in the area. ADT will patrol on Mondays, iMvula on Tuesdays, RSS on Wednesdays and Savika on Thursdays. Each patrol takes place from 4pm to 8pm.
In addition to the security company patrols, Sandton police have also focused more attention on the area and are conducting regular operations. Captain Kym Cloete, head of communications for the Sandton police said officers were conducting high visibility patrols in the area and awareness campaigns for motorists. Police are also conducting investigative operations in the area.
Shathi Govender, chairperson of the PRRA said the organisation was looking into erecting a fence at the top of the N1 highway embankment so that potential smash-and-grab criminals would no longer be able to use the embankment as an easy escape route. Govender said the organisation was in talks with fencing companies and would need donations from the public to pay for the fence.
Anyone interested in donating to the project can contact the PRRA.
Details: Shathi@tisasolutions.co.za; www.paulshof.org
