SAPS Nigel have arrested another nine citizens in terms of the Disaster Management Act since April 10, bringing the total to 19 since the president’s initial call for a nationwide lockdown, while a male suspect was arrested for breaking and entering in MacKenzieville.
According to Sgt Nellie Dwaba (SAPS Nigel spokesperson) police are continuously confronted with hardened criminals who despite the lockdown, go about their normal criminal behaviour.
A large number of crimes however go unreported, either because of the nature of the crime or because of a lack of confidence in the system itself. Reporting a crime is important for the following reasons:
* SAPS can only investigate if a crime has been reported and a statement has been made;
* reporting a crime is important for accurate crime statistics, which gives SAPS more leverage to request extra police officers and vehicles for a particular area;
* it gives the police a time frame and points out certain hot spots;
* SAPS may be able to lift fingerprints from a crime scene which can possibly link them to existing or future cases.
Community members, especially residents from Alrapark and MacKenzieville are encouraged to report crime, or to anonymously provide the police with information on criminal activities in their area by phoning SAPS Nigel on 011 812 6503, or Crime Stop at 08600 10111, or send an anonymous SMS to Crime Line at 32211, and change the lives of many victims.
