Residents in Thornton have become victims of a spate in robberies alongside the train station.
According to some residents they are being robbed, and people are getting robbed there almost every day.
Apparently the criminals use toy guns when robbing.
Maryanne Jordaan says her domestic worker was also robbed at the station and that she must now make use of Uber services from the station to get to the house safely.
Due to the ongoing crime at the station Thornton Neighbourhood Watch increased its visibility at this spot.
“I saw the neighborhood watch at the station; if this kind of security happens regularly, the message will be everywhere, that people mustn’t mess with Thornton,” a resident says.
According to Leona van Wyk, chair of the Goodwood Neighbourhood Watch, on October 23 a robbery occurred at Thornton station.
After the incident the suspect ran towards Goodwood.
Thornton Neighbourhood Watch then called in Goodwood Neighbourhood Watch for assistance.
“Our patrollers responded, but by the time they got there the suspect had already been caught and cuffed. He was jumping from yard to yard and hence the residents caught him.”
Goodwood Neighbourhood Watch stood by until the police arrived and then they withdrew from the scene.
These two neighbourhood watches do not regularly work together “but this clearly shows that we need to be closer to each other, especially with sharing of information and incidents”, says Van Wyk.
According to Van Wyk high visibility shows a marked decrease in crime related issues.
This can be confirmed by the police and their crime statistics.
Residents are urged to still be vigilant when approaching the station.
