POLOKWANE – Criminals enter our homes and take our belongings, some even go as far as to hurt us in our homes; what can we do to protect ourselves?
These are some of the questions Review received from residents in and around Polokwane after the attack on the Bates family on Tweefontein smallholdings two weeks ago.
Review ran the story of how a man was shot dead during the robbery of the Bates family, Sean (19) and his mother, Sandra.
Sandra was unharmed during the robbery, but Sean suffered stab wounds to the head and arm.
Police received a phone call at about 03:30 on April 9. On arrival, they found the house had been broken into and a man’s body was found in the garden.
A woman from Westenburg, who was attacked last year in the house she is renting, said after reading the Bates family’s story it brought back memories of when she and her sons were held captive by men who broke into their home.
“We just went to bed when three men broke the door open and entered the house. The men were armed and threatened to kill us if we made a sound or tried to stop them.
“They took my handbag, our cellphones, the TV and some other valuable items. We were lucky they did not hurt us,” the woman said.
The woman said she did not report the matter to the police.
“I could not identify the suspects and I thought it would be a waste of time to report the case to the police,” the woman said.
Provincial police spokesperson, Col Ronél Otto, said it was important that residents reported matters to the police, whether the suspect was known or not. “The police will investigate the matter and in many cases we are able to catch the suspects and link them to the crime, even though the victim did not know the suspects’ identity,” Otto said.
The woman and other residents wanted to know what they could do to protect themselves in such cases.
Otto said the most important thing was to remain calm and comply to the intruder’s instruction.
“The worst thing to do is to become stubborn. Call the police immediately, and while waiting for the police to respond find a safe place to hide,” Otto said.
She added that it was important not to fight back when intruders assaulted, unless it was an appropriate time to do so.
Asked if a person was allowed to use a licensed firearm to protect oneself against intruders, Otto explained: “Only when it is safe to do so, whereby one cannot endanger yourself and it must be proportional force to one of the intruders. When using a firearm for self defence, when one is protecting one’s property or even oneself, shoot in a safe direction.”
Otto added that it was very important that victims left the crime scene as it was until the police arrived and forensics had gathered evidence.
“It is important that people do not tamper with evidence. The more evidence the police collect the better chance there is to catch the suspect and to prove the case in court,” Otto explained.
