Dunoon needs its own police station, says the township’s ward councillor, following a brazen robbery at a shopping centre there last week.
Lubabalo Makeleni, the Ward 104 councillor, said there was a lot of crime in the area, and surrounding police stations
wwere unable to respond fast enough.
He made this call after four men held up the Shoprite supermarket at The Stables Shopping Centre, on Potsdam Road, last Friday, just after 10am.
“Two of the suspects entered the supermarket, one armed with a firearm. One remained in the vehicle and the other one stood guard at the door,” said Table View police spokeswoman Captain Adriana Chandler.
“The two walked up to an employee and demanded to be taken to the safe. The employee complied. After taking an undisclosed amount of cash from the safe, the suspects ran to their getaway vehicle, a white Toyota RunX, and sped off,” she said.
Mr Makeleni said Dunoon had many problems – crime and housing being two of the most pressing. And there were those who used protest as a cover to commit crime.
“I find that sometimes people just damage property and call it a protest. This is where the criminal aspect comes in. These criminals are getting smarter and know that when they commit a crime, it will take some time for police to come to the rescue,” he said.
It was difficult to find culprits in a community made up largely of informal housing, he added.
Shoprite said no one had been injured during the robbery at its Dunoon supermarket.
“The robbers left within minutes. Trauma counselling has been provided and will continue for those who require support.
The store reopened again later the day,” the company said in a statement.
Captain Chandler said information could be reported anonymously to Crime Stop at 08600 10111 or Table View police station at 021 521 3300.
