Hurlingham Manor was described as a friendly, happy environment in the Sandton Chronicle, Week ending 25 March. However, this neighbourhood has been poisoned by crime and many of their residents are considering moving out of the area for this reason.
Major André Cilliers of Randburg Police Station said, “There is crime in the Hurlingham Manor area and it is for this reason that we have had to send vehicles into the area to monitor the situation. The issues have been picked up and we meet every Wednesday with security companies in the area for a security forum so that we can all work together to address these issues. There has been very positive communication between the police and the security companies.”
CSS Tactical security guard, Nyambeni Emmanuel, who works at the Hurlingham Manor boom, said that there have been three recent incidents of crime. In the first, a woman was allegedly followed from a shopping centre and hijacked in her driveway.
In the second, a woman saw a man jump over her wall. “CSS Tactical got to the scene of the crime and caught the man who was later taken to the police station by Metro,” said Emmanuel.
He gave details of a third incident in which an elderly woman and her daughter were woken up in the early hours of the morning and robbed of all their valuable possessions. A Sandton Chronicle journalist tried to get comment from the woman and her daughter but, although they confirmed the robbery, they wanted to remain anonymous. The daughter relayed the harrowing experience when she said, “A man walked into my room in the early hours of the morning with a gun to my mother’s head. He and his accomplice ransacked our home and took many of our valuable possessions. We have had to upgrade our entire house’s security and have put in a new alarm system, which cost a fortune.”
Another resident, who also wishes to remain anonymous said, “A man with a balaclava was seen standing on the wall between number 6 and 7 Murati Place looking into people’s yards. CSS Tactical has encouraged all of the residents to check that their electrical fences are working properly.”
This resident ended off by saying that all of the ‘For Sale’ signs in her beautiful suburb are because of the increase in crime.
