A suspected house robbing syndicate is allegedly operating in the suburbs of Waterkloof Ridge and Monument Park, and is believed to be receiving help from domestic workers and gardeners.
Employers are now urged to use polygraph tests on workers they employ at their homes as one possible method of prevention. Nick Nicolaou, from the community policing forum (CPF) of Sector 4, has asked residents to be on high alert after a home was broken into last week.
It is alleged that the robbers who entered the home in Rupert Street after the domestic worker let them in were making an inventory of the contents of the home, as well as the security measures in place.
Only an iPad was stolen. “Criminals are still gaining entrance into properties by convincing domestic workers to open for them. Recently, two men in an unmarked vehicle gained access to a home
The men allegedly said that they were there to repair lights and an air conditioner. Luckily nobody was harmed. It is believed that the men wanted to do an inventory of the house and see what type of security was in place,” Nicolaou told Rekord.
He urged fellow residents to take strict measures regarding their domestic and garden workers.
“They can be our best field agents if they know what to look out for or how to report crime and suspicious activity.
They are at home during the day when we aren’t. Send them to domestic workshops organised by your local CPF or police station. It is essential that residents equip their workers with panic buttons.” Nicolaou explained that the use of polygraph tests on domestic workers or gardeners was also a way of deterring crime in the area.
“If they know that there’s a likelihood of a polygraph test in the future, it will deter them from co-operating with criminals. Even domestic workers that have worked for you for 30 years can be swayed.
Criminals will promise them a small cut and reassure them that nobody will be at home when they burgle or that they won’t hurt anyone if someone is at home. Sometimes workers are threatened or blackmailed to give information. It is our experience that a lot of domestic workers see crime as their employer’s problem and that it won’t affect them. Make them realise the implications of a robbery.”
