Smash and grab incidents at an all time high!
The City of Cape Town and law enforcement officials urge all motorists to keep their valuables out of sight when stopping, due to the high rate of smash and grab incidents lately.
Areas of Jakes Gerwel Drive, Military Road, Stock Road and around the R300 in Mitchells plain have been identified as hotspots for these smash and grab incidents. Motorists are advised to take particular care when driving through these areas.
Stay safe this festive season!
There have been at least 190 smash and grab incidents on Jakes Gerwel Drive alone, in the first nine months of the year. These are just the reported ones, many probably go unreported.
JP Smith, Mayco Member for Safety and Security explains that attackers are more often than not attracted by the valuable items they can physically see in the vehicle.
“Out of every 10 vehicles coming through, six or seven are sitting with a laptop, handbag, cellphone, wallet, purse displayed on the passenger seat for the attackers to have a look at.”
Smith added that officials are using CCTV cameras to try and track down these criminals and create profiles that could lead to arrests and jail time.
This is how you prevent a smash and grab incident!
It seems these crimes are of an opportunistic nature and not really pre-planned. So by removing the opportunity or at least the perceived opportunity from the attackers vision, you can prevent yourself from being a victim. So for passengers, don’t even sit in the passenger seat or back seat with your valuable phone out. This is what attracts these criminals and increases the likelihood of a smash and grab incident.
Source: EWN