An upsurge in cases involving theft out of motor vehicles has been recorded in and around the Rosebank CBD, according to the Rosebank police.
Sergeant Bongi Mdletshe, a spokesperson for the Rosebank police, said that while criminals still resort to the use of a car-jamming device to interrupt the signal emitted from a car-key and the vehicle’s transponder, they have also developed other ways of taking items from inside stationary vehicles.
“We have had an escalation of theft out of motor vehicles in the past five to six months,” said Mdletshe. “This says to us that the remote is no more in use as it was used in the past – in any public space where your car is parked and is vulnerable to be stolen or be broken into. The latest version of all is that the suspects are breaking windows as they commit this type of crime.”
In such cases, Mdletshe said perpetrators make use of a getaway car – including two VW Polo Vivos which are grey and white in colour, respectively, as well as a white Toyota Fortuner, which have all been identified.
“They target boots, the back and front seats of cars, where there are things lying around, especially cellphones, handbags and wallets. However, what they like most is laptops, whereby if they can’t find anything in the car, they will go to the boot and take the laptop.”
Mdletshe urged residents not to be casual about parking as this is what criminals prey on. He said police have in the past warned residents not to park on the side of the streets, especially when covered parking is available at a mall. “This has been so big in our policing precinct. People park anywhere because they don’t want to go and park their cars at the mall.
“Because they don’t want to pay, they park their car’s on the streets. This is a huge problem. It means that when [perpetrators] see a car that is parked on the side of the road in a public area, they use that opportunity.”
Mdletshe added that although police have information relating to who might be behind these crimes, the challenge lies in that the perpetrators don’t operate in one area, making it difficult for police to trace them.
“These guys have specific times and they operate in a more proactive way so that whenever they do this, they hit and don’t stay in the area.”
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