After complaints a few weeks ago, the Norwood police have been more proactive and are monitoring the work seekers and loiterers outside Pick n Pay Louis Botha.
Two weeks ago we had a bad week with loiterers. On the Monday they robbed a child on the way to our shop and on the Friday they assaulted someone walking past. The end result was blood from one of the loiterers being smeared on our wall, but they were taken away by the police. Later in the afternoon, after reports that some of the loiterers were drunk and throwing bottles at cars, I went outside and removed the beer they were drinking on the pavement and poured it into the flowers. They took offence and threatened to kill me so I called the police and CAP who came to sort out the problem.
Since this incident the police have been monitoring the area and there has been an improvement.
A few days later one of the loiterers who threatened to kill me came into my shop. I told him to leave and never to enter again. I called the police and they took him away for questioning as he admitted to a pending assault case. He apologised for threatening to kill me as he had “smoked too much dagga that day”. One of the legitimate work seekers explained that the loiterers were affecting his chances of getting work.
On a positive note I would like to thank the Norwood police for their prompt assistance in what is a difficult and ongoing problem.
