Police warn of increase in housebreakings and theft in Moroka

The Moroka police recorded a high number of housebreakings in almost all the areas that are policed by the Moroka police station.

Most of the housebreakings happen during the day when the owners or occupants of the houses are at work and their children are at school.

Criminals monitor the movement of the occupants when they are leaving for work and then break into their homes. According to Captain Mpande Khoza between 14 to 20 housebreaking cases are reported in a period of seven days.

Items like LCD television sets, cell phones, and small appliances are targeted the most because they are easy to carry and they are also in demand.

According to Khoza factors that contribute to housebreakings are:

• Residents who are reluctant or not prepared to invest in the security of their homes, even minor security features like installing a burglar door;

• Neighbours who are not communicating with one another and are not each other’s eyes and ears;

• People who go on long holidays without leaving someone in their houses;

• People who still use bricks or chairs at night to secure the doors of their homes;

• People who still go to bed without checking that their doors, gates, burglar gates, windows and garage doors are properly locked;

• People who leave their children watching TV and who go to sleep without locking doors;

• People who still put the door key under the bin or door mat;

• Landlords who rent out a room to a new tenant without changing the locks, knowing very well that the previous tenant could possibly still have the same key.

What to do when you are a victim of a housebreaking:

• Do not tamper with the crime scene by touching where the suspect has left behind his or her fingerprints;

• Report the crime immediately to the local police station;

• Record the serial numbers of your home content items like television sets, computers, laptops, etc.

• Visit places where they sell second hands goods around your area. In most cases, criminals sell these items to second-hand goods shops for fast cash. When you identify your property there, do not fight with them, because most of the time they are working with criminals. Go straight to the police station and request the police to accompany you;

• Make some identification marks on your TV, laptops, computers, where it is not easy to be spotted by the criminals.

“Most importantly remember to upgrade the security of your house to avoid being a victim of crime,” advised Khoza.

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