WHILE the residents of uMgeni Park met with Community Policing Forum (CPF) last night to voice their concerns about the spiralling crime in their area, a brazen robber stood with an R5 rifle on the verge of a house in the area while his accomplices ransacked it.
The residents had met for an urgent ‘crisis meeting’ in reaction to last Saturday’s brutal murder of 63-year-old, Stephen Edmonstone, who was killed in a burglary on Collard Road. The armed men allegedly killed Edmonstone for a laptop.
But last night when the residents thought they were addressing the crime, another robbery was in progress, this time on Wedgewood Way at approximately 7.45pm. The CPF meeting was being held at the Grace Family Church, no more than 300 meters away.
Lt Elvis Naidoo, of the Greenwood Park SAPS, was addressing residents concerns regarding the police’s efforts in crime prevention.“It shows how brazen the criminal are. They conducted the robbery down the road from the meeting that had relatively high police presence,” said Brian Daish, the chairman of the Umgeni Park Neighbourhood Watch.
Reports suggest that three men were travelling in a silver Mercedes Benz went about the robbery despite the high police presence. “I have been unable to confirm these reports, but if they are true the rifle would have taken out any security vehicles that came down that road,” he said.
Shaun Ryley, the ward councillor for ward 36, said “the fact that the incident coincided with the meeting emphasized that the area is in serious disarray.”
The newly appointed councillor said he was shocked to hear that a total of 23 police vehicles belonging to the Greenwood Park Police Station were out of commission and need of repair. “Visible policing is thus put at a disadvantage, which puts the safety of the public at risk. This is a great cause for concern and needs to addressed,” he said.
Northglen News was unable to get comment from Greenwood Park SAPS.
