Quick thinking and efficient co-operation led to the arrest of three suspects after a grab-and-run purse robbery on February 20 in Weltevreden Park.
According to Honeydew CPF’s public relations officer Michael Steyn, reports were received on community groups of a purse snatching. The CPF was able to collect CCTV footage of the incident where a male in a blue T-shirt violently grabbed the bag from a woman before fleeing on foot to a getaway vehicle.
“We enlisted the help of Beagle Watch Security and the police, who swiftly identified the owner of the car, and also employed their vast CCTV resources to help track the vehicle,” says Steyn.
Beagle Watch’s crime prevention unit took to the streets using the information from CCTV sources to track the vehicle. It was eventually tracked to Discovery and after a short while of searching, crime specialist Jacques Morton spotted the vehicle near a service station on Conradie Street.
He managed to stop the car at the service station and within minutes, other security officers including crime specialist Leon van Zyl, as well as the police arrived on scene.
“They managed to arrest the three occupants of the vehicle, but unfortunately the person seen in the video robbing the woman was not in the vehicle,” says Steyn.
“A search of the vehicle did produce a handbag and empty wallet, which was later identified by the victim as being hers. While at the scene, another victim came forward, stating that the same group had tried to snatch her handbag only minutes before in Du Toit Street in Discovery. Luckily, she was able to hang on and raise the alarm, which prompted the robbers to flee.”
The suspects were taken to the police station.
Steyn, who had been part of the investigation and chase from the outset, was full of praise for all the role players in this successful arrest.
“It just goes to show what effective co-operation between the community, police, and the private security sector is capable of. These suspects were identified, chased down, and successfully arrested less than two hours after the initial reports came in.”
