Superhero keeping Amanzimtoti safe during lockdown
He often is on the hunt for criminals in the early hours of the morning while everyone sleeps.
With an increase in crime during the lockdown, ET Rapid Response South Coast managing member, Tony Lokker, 47, is one of the superheroes keeping Toti residents safe at home.
“There has definitely been an increase in crime at night and lots of movement, with trespassers being disturbed on properties, looking to break-in or what they can steal. Other areas have been affected much worse than Toti, where house robberies seem to have picked up.
We have increased patrols and ensured we have our tactical response teams working day and night – these guys respond aggressively to contact crimes and are well equipped to handle any situation. Our K9 units also patrol day and night.
The lockdown has affected our business. Although we are a essential service provider, we are operating on skeleton staff in other key areas such as sales and admin. With businesses closed and people locking themselves in, sales are almost non existent. We are happy to come and assess your security during this time and assist with any changes if needed.”
READ ALSO: Magic mushroom lab squashed in Amanzimtoti
Tony was born in Johannesburg and moved to Durban when he was 10-years-old. he matriculated in 1990 and during and after school he studied herpetology and worked at Fitzsimons Snake Park, where he after completing his military service.
He grew up on the Bluff, but settled in Toti in 2010 when the Toti Control Centre was opened. He has been at the helm of ET since 2011. He is married to Catherine and they have three children. “The hardest part about my job is not spending enough time at home – being on call 24/7 sometimes gets to you. The best part is being out there and helping people, as I hate being stuck at the office.”
The crime fighter enjoys a round of golf and fishing when he is not chasing bad guys, and training dogs. He has been involved with dogs and their training for a long time. “In 2012, I saw the need for a dedicated K9 unit at ET and set out to get our dogs to the best performing level possible. It takes many hours of training, which never ends, to get a dog to a level where they can be competent.
My K9 partner Titan is a five-year-old German Shephard and he is such a balanced animal. He loves going out to do what he is good at. We also have Vato, a 10-month-old Dutch shephard new rookie working under Titan’s strict supervision.”
READ ALSO:Â CCPO nabs armed robbers
Tony has been involved in security work since 1990. “I did my military service at 5 SAI and have spent 11 years working with SAPS. I have worked with some specialised units, where I learned a lot.”
Far from being a nine-to-five worker, he often is on the hunt for criminals in the early hours of the morning while everyone sleeps. “There is nothing better than being out there, hunting those who come to harm others. We work very well with SAPS, especially some of the specialised units, and I assist them whenever possible. With my past experience, I know what they expect from us as a private service provider and how we can assist them in the fight against crime.
We also share training techniques and we have a good informant network, which helps. We are equipped to take the fight to well-armed criminals and I think the law enforcement guys see that we are there for the right reasons. We also have an indoor combat shooting range, which we share with law enforcement, to hone our skills.”
Tony and ET also have a good working relation with the CCPO and man its control room. “We see the need and the value for a well-organised community crime prevention system in Toti, which has contributed to the fall of many hardened criminals over the past five years.”
And how can the Toti public assist Tony more with his job? “For us to be more effective combating crime, we need more cars on the road. More cars means more well trained and better equipped crime fighters. It also means more advance technology can be deployed in our area.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 061 694 6047
The South Coast Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest – why not join us there?
Do you have more information pertaining to this story?
Feel free to let us know by commenting on our Facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.
To receive our free newsletter click here
(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)
