You won’t believe what’s happening to these parked cars!
In Tableview, Cape Town – there seems to be a new criminal trend plaguing the streets (or rather, wheels) of the local inhabitants..
Upon awaking in the morning and taking a stroll to their car – some unfortunate residents have had the unpleasant experience of finding their now, wheelless vehicle propped up on a stack of bricks.
Stripped down to the axles, these cars are left balancing on a stack of bricks. The area’s Community Policing Forum stressed that, “It’s not safe to park on the streets any more.”
In the last week alone there have been four reported cases of this type of incident, but the forum’s spokeswoman Gemma Gardner believes that this figure is only the “tip of the iceberg.” She goes on to say that, incidents of crimes such as these are often left unreported and that the true figures would be significantly larger!
The Community Policing Forum is unclear as to the exact method these thieves use in order to remove the tyres with such haste. They suspect that a team is involved, whereby the vehicle is quickly propped up onto the bricks using a jack. After which, all four tyres can be simultaneously removed.
They also seem to be taking advantage of the load shedding schedules – usually operating between 20:00 and 22:30 at night, when the neighbourhood (lacking any lights or street lamps) is at its darkest.
Adam Fisher, the Rondebosch East Neighbourhood Watch Chairman, warns that his area has faced a similar spike in wheel theft in the past. He reports that these thieves had even gone so far as to hoist the stolen tyres over walls. Various other areas in Cape Town have also experienced this same criminal trend – multiple wheel thefts in quick succession, after which returning back to normal levels.
It seems that these thieves relocate fairly regularly – making them very hard to catch. It is believed that they use listing sites such as Gumtree and OLX to quickly get rid of the stolen tyres. There also seems to be a huge market in neighbouring African countries, as the police have discovered numerous stolen goods and cars crossing the borders of South Africa.
Statistics reveal that this “theft out of vehicle” type crime is becoming more and more popular within the criminal underworld. The total amount of reported cases have steadily increased from year to year – with last year’s total being 20% higher than the 2009 total.
While Tableview residents seem to be the unfortunate targets now, who only knows where these wheeljackers will strike next!
Be careful where you park and try avoid parking on the road overnight!