Domestic watch warns residents

Fairland Police have warned residents and their workers to be on the lookout for criminals looking for their Christmas bonus. Warrant Officer Motlokwa Monyemangene spoke at the first Make A Difference (MAD) Domestic Watch meeting held at the Berario Recreation Centre in Fairland on 18 August.

He warned that over the next three months police were expecting crime in the area to escalate greatly as criminals would now be targeting homes in the area to secure themselves money for December.

Monyemangene pointed out that robberies were a problem around the Fairland area and that the usual modus operandi that criminals use is to pose as workers from Eskom or a pool company to gain entry to a house.

He warned domestic workers to be on the lookout at all times and urged them to remain calm when a robbery happens.

The founder of MAD Domestic Watch Penny Steyn spoke at the meeting, where domestic workers and their employers were taught about methods to keep themselves safe in the home and how to react in emergency situations. “Employers and their workers need to maintain a relationship where open communication is key,” she said.

Steyn spoke about her own experience where she was a victim of a robbery which led her to start MAD. Steyn taught the workers how to remember emergency numbers as well as the police sector numbers. She explained that when in an emergency situation, calling the right people would enable the situation to be diffused in good time.

One of the domestic workers in attendance Pinky Malaatjie spoke about her experience of a robbery while she was at work in Brixton. “I realised that there were no security measures that my employer had put in place and when the robbery happened we were at the mercy of the criminals,” Malaatjie said.

Steyn ended the meeting by encouraging domestic workers to ensure that they keep the Fairland Police numbers on their speed dial in case anything were to happen.

Fairland Police 011 478 9413/4.