‘Balaclava gang’ in Melkbosstrand

 

A gang of robbers have been terrorising Melkbosstrand and surrounds, with four incidents reported between 21 April and 13 May. According to Melkbosstrand Neighbourhood Watch spokesperson Nicky Versfeld, it is fortunate that no one has been injured during these incidents. She adds there is a very real possibility that the suspects could return. “Residents are urged to remain vigilant and on high alert. The latest terrifying incident in Klein Zout Rivier involved shots being fired and windows smashed in order to gain access,”said Versfeld. “Fortunately due to quick thinking and a plan (a security gate barricading residents) the family were safe from harm and able to call for help immediately. The police, watch, Avenue Response and ADT responded within minutes,”she said. Assisted by the K9 unit, the security personell scoured surrounding bush areas but despite working tirelessly until the early hours, the suspects managed to avoid detection and capture. The other incidents happened in Raymond Crescent and Partridge Place. Melkbosstrand police station commander, Capt Ronita van der Toorn, said the suspects involved during the different incidents were described and police believe them to be the same group of people. They are well-spoken, possibly foreign and even a bit nervous. The same kind of gun has also been described. This surge in robberies has just reinforced the call for the community to get involved and join the local neighbourhood watch. “People must consider the whole community and not just their street or neighbours. We have a great partenership with the watch and security companies,” said Van der Toorn. Versfeld agrees: “We need people to get actively involved and keep our present momentum going.” Local Community Police Forum chair John Taylor adds it is important for people to keep their safety gates and garage doors closed and set their alarms diligently. Versfeld said from the incidents reported it seems the gang prefer to catch residents unaware, often whilst outdoors when access into the home is easier. “Residents at and in their home have more items of value available and can provide easier access to a safe with additional valuables and firearms. Jewellery, laptops, tablets, cell phones, cameras, cash and so forth are taken,” he said. “Three of the above incidents occurred where there is no neighbouring property bordering the back of targeted homes. Areas are poorly lit, or not at all, with vegetation allowing concealed suspects to observe and strategize, and move in once the opportunity presents itself. Victims hanging up or removing washing or smoking have been targeted.” Versfeld says it might be wise to keep a panic button in one’s pocket at all times and teach children what to do during a possible home invasion. ***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. IT MAY NOT BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***

 

The police have given a name to the group of robbers who have been operating in the greater Melkbosstrand area over the past two months. They’ve been dubbed the “Balaclava Gang”. Whether the gang operating along the West Coast is connected with the other balaclava gangs who have targeted various neighbourhoods in Cape Town over the past two years is not a certainty, but it isn’t being ruled out. Two weeks ago TygerBurger reported in the article entitled “Wave of robberies hits Melkbos” that a group of robbers have been terrorising the area with four incidents reported between 21 April and 13 May. Both the local neighbourhood watch and the police sent out a warning to residents to be vigilant, with the suspicion that the robbers might strike again at any time. This foreboding has been justified after the gang of four or five robbers struck at least twice in the last two weeks. Last week Monday the gang broke into a house in Sunningdale and the Monday before that they hit a farm along the N7. The same modus operandi has led police to believe that this is the work of an organised gang who wear balaclavas. According to Melkbosstrand Neighbourhood Watch spokesperson Nicky Versfeld, the robbers usually operate at night. “People should be vigilant as soon as it gets dark. This gang, of which at least one person is armed, would wait for a victim to come out of the house for some reason, such as getting something from the car or going to the washing line. That’s usually how they gain entry into the house,” she explains. The gang followed the same modus operandi when they robbed people living on a farm along the N7. “The family was watching television that evening when the pump, which is outside, allegedly broke,” says Philadelphia police spokesperson Capt Frederick Rossouw. “The man went out to investigate and when he came back the gang followed him in. We suspect the people monitored the house the whole afternoon.” Rossouw said the gang usually steals valuables they can carry and then sell. The suspects in this incident fled on foot due to the rough terrain and were possibly picked up by a vehicle on the road. Many of the attacks have occurred next to a greenbelt or at houses adjacent to dense bushes that provide concealment before and after the incident, says Versfeld. Rossouw adds that the gang would bind people’s hands behind their backs with cables and then search the premises for valuables. He continues by saying that they suspect two firearms were used during the attack along the N7, of which one might have been a toy gun. This cannot be confirmed, and Versfeld says one can in any case never count on a weapon aimed at you being a toy. “Thankfully, there have been no further attacks in Melkbosstrand since the last article. It is still advisable to be on your guard at night in your homes and also join the neighbourhood watch,” she says. This particular call for action published in TygerBurger two weeks ago has borne fruit, with a “steady improvement”, according to Versfeld. “The response has been good and we want to thank those who came forward, but there is also space for more. We increased the patrols in the area and people are becoming more aware,” she says. Melkbosstrand police commander Cpt Ronita van der Toorn agrees that the best way the community can react to the threat posed by the Balaclava Gang is to join the local neighbourhood watch. Van der Toorn concludes by saying that Balaclava Gang leads are being followed up, but to date no arrests have been made. ***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. IT MAY NOT BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***

 

A member of the so-called balaclava gang died on his way to hospital after one of the gang’s last victims, a Melkbosstrand police officer, shot him in the arm and the left side of the torso on Tuesday last week. Three other robbers managed to escape into the bushy terrain next to Narcissus Street, despite heavy police, K9-unit, chopper and neighbourhood watch presence. “This was once again the same modus operandi as the other house robberies in the area,” said Melkbosstrand police commander Captain Ronita van der Toorn. TygerBurger reported on the robberies in recent articles titled “Wave of robberies hits Melkbos” and “Gang strikes again”. “Last week Tuesday at about 21:00 four balaclava-clad males armed with a revolver, a panga and gloves entered a house in Narcissus Street when a resident briefly stepped outside. The entire family (husband, wife and two young children) were held up,” said Van der Toorn. One of the robbers demanded the police officer open his safe and that is when the man apparently reached for his gun and shot the suspect twice. The exact circumstances behind the attack are still being investigated, she says, but preliminary investigation indicates the officer acted within his rights. The other three suspects escaped with a laptop, wallet, iPhone and cellphone. Van der Toorn said there were no other injuries, but that the family are very traumatised. Melkbosstrand Neighbourhood Watch spokesperson Nicky Versfeld said they assisted the police from the time the complaint came in shortly before 21:00 until 02:00. “Some of our members had just exited a meeting at the station when the complaint came in – we were therefore able to assist at the station briefly with answering calls and conveying information both to the police and to our watch response team members before departing for various duties and to observation points, including extra patrols in the area and along the R27. “One call in particular that I answered was from security at the reserve alerting us to the fact that suspects were seen there, which gave an immediate indication of where to start searching. “At times like this the station becomes extremely busy which is why we have called for and encourage volunteers to assist with answering the telephone at the police,” said Versfeld. Melkbosstrand Community Police Forum’s John Taylor says he was left “concerned” by the incident. “It is concerning when someone uses a gun for protection and ends up killing someone. The risk of them getting injured or even ending up in jail in the process becomes so much bigger when it happens. Obviously in this specific case, the person who fired the shot is trained, but one must be very, very careful when firing shots at an intruder,” he says before adding, “it is best to do what robbers want in these situations.” Taylor urged the public to remain “vigilant” – a buzzword in recent times for Melkbosstrand residents. “These guys are part of a bigger syndicate and it is far from over,” he warns. ***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. IT MAY NOT BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***

 

Steady crime increase

Burglary in Table View and surrounds has steadily increased in the last five years according to the released crime statistics.

This is no surprise to Table View police station commander, Col Dirk Vosloo.

“Table View is in policing terms known as a property crime station due to the volumes of property crimes reported in the station area yearly. In the last five years burglary has increased by 24.5%, in the last three years with 10% and year on year by 14.3%.”

Vosloo reckons one of the reasons for this is down to the perception that the area is seen as an affluent one by criminals.

“There are specific areas that attract more burglaries than other areas,” he continues.

“In the Parklands area, the block between Raats Drive on the South, Wood Drive on the West, Sanddown on the North and Gie Road on the East, are targeted mostly due to the geographical placement of the area.

“It is easily accessible from the bushy areas along the railway line and N7 areas. The new Sanddown extension will also have its influence on the crime of the area.

“There will be easy access to the N7.”

He adds that the increase in area size is having a direct impact on the response times of the police to deal with this crime effectively.

Continues Vosloo: “Table View is growing at a rapid rate towards the north of the precinct. Most development is in the Parklands and Sunningdale area. There is a daily influx of people into the area.”

This expansion places even further strain on the desperately low number of police officers as reported on 7 August in the TygerBurger article entitled “Police in short supply”.

The police to population ratio in Table View is approximately three times lower than the provincial average.

According to Dan Plato, Western Cape MEC of Community Safety there is only one Table View police officer per every 721 citizens.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape apparently boasts an average of one officer for every 245 citizens and in South Africa the ratio is one officer per every 303 citizens.

Says Vosloo: “Staffing of a police station is done from a provincial level and locally we have no role to play.”

“Many factors influence staffing levels at a police station, but the number of serious (contact) crimes like, murder, rape and aggravated robbery play a major role. Table View is not a big contributor to those crimes if one look at the provincial picture.”

Table View’s murder rates are one of the lowest in the country, with only six from April 2012 to March 2013. This figure has been decreasing over the last few years.

There has been a 12.2% increase in murders in the province during 2012/2013.

Vosloo’s frank dissection of the statistics is a breath of fresh air in comparison with his peers throughout the province.

A few days after the statistics were released Plato said: “Not only are we not given access to crime statistics, we are also not given any information to indicate where problematic areas are.

“The people of this province deserve these answers.

“The key indicators have shown an increase when compared with last year, while others have shown a decrease. Out of 28 crime categories, 22 have shown dramatic increases – this is simply unacceptable.”

. Common robbery (mostly the grabbing of handbags and cellphones) has steadily increased in Table View over the years.

“We will continue to patrol the hotspots and make people aware through the media and by handing out pamphlets in these hotspot areas,” says Vosloo.

“It is important to make people aware not to ‘display’ their cellphones to potential robbers. Through police patrols, we observed many people, especially students, busy on their cellphones completely cut off from the world around them.”

He concludes by saying that Table View is “very fortunate” that there is a massive growing interest in community mobilisation in the past 12-18 months.

“The Community Police Forum together with the neighbourhood watch structures in the three sectors, are doing amazing work to be the eyes and ears of the police and in patrolling their streets, day and night.

“As a station commander, I am really humbled by their contribution.”

 ***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE AND PHOTO WERE PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. NEITHER MAY BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***

Serious crime stats up

Socio-economic challenges in Joe Slovo Park and Du Noon continue to affect crime statistics in Milnerton police’s precinct.

At first glance the recently released statistics for the period between April 2012 to March 2013 in Milnerton and surrounds look worrying.
Murders have gone up from 35 to 45, robbery with aggravating circumstances from 238 to 325 and burglary at residential premises from 602 to 795.
Of the 29 listed crime categories, only 10 have shown a decrease.
The biggest of these were the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition that went down from 29 to 19 and commercial crime from 578 to 484.
The latter is countered, however, by the dramatic increase in robbery at non-residential premises that shot up from 27 to 70.
One of the most serious “crimes” in the area isn’t even included in the statistics – apathy.
Milnerton police station commander, Brig Marius Stander, elaborates: “We organise many crime prevention meetings, but when the day comes that room is empty. People must be informed and become aware. Knowledge directly affects the individual’s safety.
“One could hear at these meetings that crime is up in your street and you could realise it’s because the street lights are not working or because the municipal grass needs cutting.”
Stander is jealous of the way the community pulls together just a few kilometres to the north in Table View and surrounds where there has been a tremendous growth in the local neighbourhood watch and street committees.
How long it will take for Milnerton to realise that this is the only way to go, is uncertain.
Stander admits that the community and the police should be pooling their resources and working together.
“The community are our eyes and ears. Without them there will be no witnesses when a suspect appears in court. Also, if they don’t look after their possessions by activating their alarms or leaving it on their car seat then our job becomes much harder,” he says.
Regarding the unfavourable statistics, Stander emphasises that it is no surprise, since they work with it on a daily basis.
“It is a reality for us. We are worried about housebreakings in the Milnerton Central area and the more serious robberies in Du Noon and Joe Slovo. These two areas receive special attention.”
He adds that about 98 % of the murders happened in one of these two areas.
Stander reckons the best way to get the crime under control in these areas is social upliftment.
“Living conditions there are dire in some places. Various resources could be improved such as lighting and especially unemployment. In an ideal world we would have a police station in Du Noon.”
Milnerton’s statistics are roughly in line with those in the province, with 22 categories showing a dramatic increase as opposed to 19 in Milnerton.
The most serious of these increases (percentage increase in brackets) are murder (12.2%), attempted murder (40.9%), aggravated robbery (21.4%), illegal possession of firearm (21.4%), carjacking (45.6%), cash in transit robbery (114.3%), robbery at residential premises (22.5%) and robbery at non-residential premises (23.4%).
Dan Plato, Western Cape MEC of Community Safety, finds these increases “totally unacceptable” and reckons one of the ways to keep the public in the loop is to release statistics more regularly.
Says Plato: “Crime statistics provide a measure of success of policing, but they are also a valuable tool for responding to crime patterns and directing valuable resources to where they are most needed. This can only be done by having access to statistics on a regular basis, so that various role-players such as other government departments and civil society can respond to the changing crime patterns and help to prevent crime.”

***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE AND PHOTO WERE PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. NEITHER MAY BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***

 

Criminals are getting convicted

Too often one only hears about crimes while the convictions go unreported.

In the last week the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court dished out a total of 53 years’ imprisonment to six people apprehended by the Milnerton detective branch.

Spokesperson for Milnerton police, W/O Daphne Dell says: “We so often hear the public saying that nobody gets convicted in court so it is not worth the effort to open a case. With these convictions we can see that justice does prevail and that suspects do get convicted and sentenced to prison for crimes committed.”

Business robber Sailor Mazula was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment; murderer Akhona Sankahla to 15 years; robbers Ntandazo Mphante, Siyabonga Mrawuli and Masixole Matyila to seven, seven and four years respectively; and burglar Devon Wolfaardt to five years.

Robber

Dell went on to describe each of the cases separately, the first being that of business robber Mazula.

“The complainant was in his shop when four males entered, one armed with a shotgun and three armed with 9mm firearms. They threatened the workers and demanded cash and the safe keys. They assaulted a witness, took cash and ran away. The owner chased after them, but when he grabbed one suspect a shot was fired towards him and he had to let go again.”

Sankahla, who was convicted for murder, was seen killing someone in Joe Slovo Park by stabbing him in his chest, back and in his left armpit.

The blood trail of the deceased led right to the front of his girlfriend’s house.

The three convicted robbers, Mphante, Mrawuli and Matyila were involved in the same violent incident in Joe Slovo Park.

Followed

Dell elaborates: “While the complainant was walking he realised he was being followed by three men. He started to run, but one pulled him by the back of his shirt and after a struggle the complainant was hit on the forehead by a firearm. After this the men robbed him of his possessions.”

Wolfaardt, who was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for housebreaking and assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH), broke down his neighbour’s door and stabbed someone in the head.

Dell elaborates: “The complainant was at home with her boyfriend and kids. She then heard a bang at her front door, but it was locked. After three bangs she noticed that her front door was kicked open by her downstairs neighbour’s son. She asked him what he was doing, but he did not answer her. He pushed her out of the way and, with a knife in his hand, walked to her boyfriend. She screamed for help when Wolfaardt started stabbing him.”

In four relatively minor cases fines to the value of R5 500 were handed down. Zandisila Maqetseba was fined R2 000 for the possession of dagga and a dangerous weapon, while Gert Cupido, Abel Jonkers and Ntsikelelo Safuge were fined R1 500, R1 000 and R1 000 respectively for possession of drugs.

 ***DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE AND PHOTO WERE PUBLISHED IN TYGERBURGER, A CAPE TOWN BASED MEDIA24 COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER. NEITHER MAY BE DUPLICATED WITHOUT ACCREDITING THE SOURCE – TYGERBURGER, MEDIA24.***