There has been a spate of burglaries in Tijgerhof especially during load shedding, say residents.
Tijgerhof Neighbourhood Watch chairman Gordon Munro said they had been alerted to at least six burglaries at homes since Friday August 11.
He urged residents to report all crimes to the police.
“While we are aware that police are under-resourced, we are working closely with them to help put an end to crime in our community. Residents have to do their part and report all crimes to them so that the statistics can prove the need for more resources in the community.”
Shelley Dingwall, of Fitzpatrick Street, said her home had been broken into on Wednesday August 23 and again on Thursday August 31, just after 2am, when she had heard a noise at her front door.
“I looked out the window, and the burglar stared right at me. My heart sank, and since then, I have been having nightmares about someone being on my property.”
Ms Dingwall said she had called the police on Wednesday August 23, but due to a lack of evidence, no case had been opened and she had “lost interest” in reporting the second incident to them.
“I have lost faith in the police,” she said. “They are the ones who should protect us, but it seems like that it is too much to ask of them, so I have decided to sell my property.”
Another Fitzpatrick Street resident, who did not want to be named as she fears for her safety, said a bicycle and ground sheets had been stolen during a burglary at her home on Sunday August 27 and her husband’s tools had been stolen out of the garage on Friday September 1.
She said she had found a knife hidden in her yard and felt unsafe in her own home.
“We are being watched because some of my husband’s belongings were taken out of the garage, placed in the yard along the Vibracrete wall, and some others were hidden in the neighbours’ yard, so they were hoping to come back to get the rest of the tools.”
The woman showed Tabletalk security-camera footage of a man in a dark hoodie walking towards the camera on his way to the locked garage. It didn’t show how he had managed to get inside the garage.
Milnerton police spokeswoman Captain Nopaya Madyibi confirmed the area had seen an increase in break-ins since the beginning of July, and she said “a few” people had been arrested during August.
Tabletalk asked how many suspects had been arrested and on what charges, but subsequent calls and emails to Captain Madyibi since Thursday September 7 went unanswered despite us sending four case numbers provided by residents .
Milnerton Community Police Forum chairwoman Jacqui Pember said they were aware of the increase in burglaries seen in Tijgerhof and were working closely with the police, neighbourhood watches and all crime-fighting organisations to “make a difference to all crime levels,” in Milnerton.
