A resident from Van Alkmaar Street raised a valid but problematic point with the Record yesterday.
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She said she was about to leave for a work early in the morning when she noticed three guys in their 20s going through wheelie bins. What she found curious though is that they were well-dressed and had no trolleys with them. (In Witpoortjie, rubbish gets collected on a Tuesday). When they spotted her they quickly disappeared. Her concern is that criminals might to some degree be able to determine whether residents have left for work by the fact that their wheelie bins have been put out.
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Spokesperson for West Suburbs Roodepoort Neighbourhood Watch (WSRNW) Frik van Zyl, admitted that rubbish collection day is a problem as criminals pretend to be recyclers as a ruse to enable them to commit their crimes. “As a matter of fact we caught two suspects yesterday (6 June) who pretended to be collecting rubbish but then broke into a garage,” said Van Zyl. “The police won’t be able to specially patrol on these days but as the neighbourhood watch we do intensify our vigilance at these times. The problem is our manpower and resources are limited,” he went on to say.
As far as advice goes, Van Zyl said it was problematic, but that his best advice was to not leave wheelie bins outside unnecessarily and that neighbours should look out for one another.
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