Burglaries continue to plague the community of Promosa as residents lose their flat screen televisions, bought with hard-earned salaries, virtually on a weekly basis.
Last Sunday, the community met with the police, the community safety department and the community police forum (CPF) to declare: “Enough is enough!”
Rachel Mogagabe whose house has been burgled several times says the community called the meeting because of a lack of police visibility in the area, especially during the high-risk early hours of the morning.
“Capt. Langevelt and the police have responded positively to our concerns and there is now some visibility, even though it’s still not enough.”
Rachel finds it strange that the burglars manage to enter their houses while they are asleep and they never hear a sound.
“We do not even know how they open the windows but we wake up to find our houses ransacked in the morning,” she said.
The authorities have begged the community to stop buying stolen goods.
“Those criminals steal our belongings because they know our own people are going to buy them back. We are saying, enough is enough. As women, we are asking ourselves what is next. If they do not get what they want, what are they going to do to us?
“I cannot sleep at night. We take turns as a family guarding the house at night.
“We are not only raising these concerns because of our stolen property, our safety is of the utmost importance. We are asking the Promosa community to stand together and fight this.
“We should also start a community patrol and eradicate this,” she said.
Capt. Paul Langevelt, acting Wespol commander says burglary is a serious concern in Promosa and the community has stood up.
“The community has raised the issue of police visibility in the area and we have heard their pleas. We will deploy active members to the area and we will see to it that there is a regular patrol.
“I applaud what the community is doing but I would also like to caution them about taking the law into their own hands. They should follow the right procedures by contacting the police at all times,” he said.
