A substantial increase in the number of smash and grab and commuter robberies were reported on all the main transport corridors running through Elsies River, the Elsies River Community Police Forum (ERCPF) confirmed.
Imraahn Mukaddam, spokesperson for the ERCPF, says with the onset of winter with less daylight hours and the inclement weather, criminals are taking advantage of increased vulnerability of motorists and commuters.
“Constant and predictable load shedding has aggravated this tendency as motorists are caught up in slow moving traffic. Syndicates focussing on taxis and e-hailing services such as Uber and Bolt have also been more active with the onset of winter,” says Mukaddam.
The ERCPF has in the past had effective awareness campaigns and deployed neighbourhood watches and walking bus volunteers to all these known hotspots.
“This unfortunately came to a halt when funding was withdrawn. As part of our anticipation for the increase in vulnerability of commuters in winter and as part of a national drive the ERCPF recruited and trained more than 80 volunteers as part of the Community in Blue initiative. These volunteers have been ready for deployment since December last year but have not been issued with uniforms and equipment yet,” says Mukaddam.
Mukaddam says their police station, as well as sister station Ravensmead, are under resourced and cannot increase police visibility due to capacity constraints such as too few vehicles.
“As a result no effective policing of transport corridors is possible,” he says.
