RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX CRIME WARNING Louis Grobler 8:06 AM (6 minutes ago) to Jan Residential burglaries in complexes on the increase More than half of all residential burglaries in the Faerie Glen area during the past week having occurred in complexes. 18 June 2013 | Ané Roux Security complexes and gated communities seem not to be as safe as residents believe, with more than half of all residential burglaries in the Faerie Glen area during the past week having occurred in complexes. According to Faerie Glen Neighbourhood Watch chairperson Fanus Johnson, complexes are under attack from criminals who realise that residents are soft targets due to a false sense of security. The solution, however, is at hand and comes in the form of a Crime Forum for Complexes (CFFC), he believes. Statistics gathered by the Faerie Glen Neighbourhood Watch showed a significant increase in the amount of burglaries in complexes. Johnson revealed to Rekord that last week alone, burglaries were reported from complexes in Uitenhage Crescent, Virginia Street, The Palisades complex in Stonewall Lane, the Alpine Village complex and Petrick Avenue while several other property-related incidents have been reported within the Wapadrand area. ”During the past week, more than 50% of residential burglaries in Sector Two occurred within complexes. The CFFC is a pro-active initiative against crime, where representatives from complexes and the community can meet with members of the Garsfontein police,” said Johnson. “Residents in security complexes have a false sense of security. From our statistics, nearly 60% of serious crime incidents reported occurred in security complexes. These include incidents of house break-ins and theft out of vehicles.” Johnson also said that although some complexes had guards on duty, very few of the units in a complex had alarm systems installed that were monitored by security companies. “Residents are also ignorant about confronting unfamiliar people and visitors with regard to their movements within the complex. Often cars are only parked under open carports and are easy targets to be broken into. Complexes with a high turnover of tenants often do not have sufficient procedures to collect and change codes on gate remote controls.” Lieutenant Carnal Kervin Solomons, Commander of Visible Policing and Crime Prevention at the Garsfontein police station, called on residents living in complexes to participate in the forum. “There are more than 125 complexes in Faerie Glen and it is very difficult to make contact with each Body Corporate and management to assist them with advice on the security measures at their complexes. We urge residents to contact the Garsfontein police to join us in this initiative,” he told Rekord. According to Hans du Plessis, chairperson of the Faerie Glen Complex Forum, complexes that already participated in the forum, which currently stands at 25, have seen a drastic decline of incidents of crime. “The forum is willing to share their strategy and experience with other complexes, but they need to get involved. "As a resident of a complex myself, I am well aware of the uninvolved attitude when it comes to security that many complex residents share. Through the forum we will be able to mobilise and make it increasingly difficult for criminals to target complexes in this suburb. We need to be effective and work with the police,” he said. Johnson furthermore encouraged all residents to get involved with the initiative. “Body Corporate members are requested to make contact with the forum, even if they are not the chairperson of their Body Corporate or management. The more representivity we have, the better our security,” he said. Enquiries: [email protected] bit.ly/128S5h5 bit.ly/128S5h5
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:14:13 +0000
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