POLICE CRACK DOWN ON CRIMINALS IN J’BAY
Following a second violent house robbery in Paradise Beach, the Police, the Neighbourhood Watches, CPF and security companies worked through the night on Sunday and managed to arrest 5 suspects and recover stolen goods.
Superintendent Ntsabo the commanding officer of the Jeffreys Bay Police Station thanked the members of the community at the monthly meeting of the Community Police Forum (CPF) last night as well as Smhart Security who were involved in tracking down the suspects.
“We are taking a zero tolerance towards criminals in the town and we will catch them” said Ntsabo.
Proving that the J’Bay Police mean business 15 “A” arrests have been made since Friday. These arrests are for crimes like assault, murder rape, drunk driving and house breakings while 17 “B” arrests have been made for crimes such as loitering, drunk and disorderly and traffic offences like jumping stop streets.
Ocean View/Pellrus remain the hotspot suburbs with crimes ranging from house breakings, domestic violence and assault with knives taking place. An attempted house breaking took place in Paradise Beach but the Police made an arrest and thwarted the attempt. A house breaking took place in Nautilus Street C-Place last night where a door was forced open to gain access.
Two businesses in the CBD were targeted and windows were broken to try gain access. Business owners are urged to take proper security measures to ensure they do not become the victim of criminals as there is an upswing in this type of crime in Jeffreys Bay.
WINNER OF THE STEPHEN BIBB PAINTING
The lucky winner of the painting donated by the world renowned artist Stephen Bibb was announced at the CPF meeting last night. Graham Veitch from Paradise Beach is the CPF member who signed up and won the lucky draw and will be handed the painting at next months CPF meeting.
Locals only for Jeffreys Bay Surf Contest
The local surf community came out of the woodwork on Saturday morning to witness a unique event in the history of surfing in Jeffreys Bay.
Ashley Walter in the best barrel of his life
16 of the top Supertubes surfers would be competing for a place in the Von Zipper Wildcard trials and sharing the line up with the water patrol, who were all long standing J’Bay locals. No surfers from anywhere else in the country or the world were going to surf Supers and there were even local policemen amongst the water patrol, making sure the Supertubes remained local’s only for the entire day.
Below: Ryan Payne the winner of the Supertubes Showdown about to hit the lip at Supertubes
The boardwalks at Supers quickly filled up with spectators and some made a bee line for the top deck at Tyrone Smith’s house and settled in to watch the action unfold. After a long waiting period, and many nervous moments for contest director Koffie Jacobs, the first wave to be ridden in the Xcel Supertubes Showdown was a classic. As the hooter sounded to start the first heat, Warren Dean whipped into a bomb and got barreled three times before being towed back out to the backline by Arthur Joubert, who was controlling the line up on his jet ski.
The first wave set the tone for the contest and spectators were given a display of tube riding that has never been witnessed in Jeffreys Bay before. Even the groms that were invited to the Supertubes Showdown got their cover ups whilst old stalwarts like Trevor Hansen showed he still knows how to ride barrels, much to the delight of his son Keane, who cheering from the beach.
The Xcel sponsored braai was well supported as was the bar as soon as it opened. The water patrol crew managed to come back to the beach to grab some Red Bulls before paddling back into the line up for some more uncrowded J’Bay perfection.
Prize giving ended just in time for the locals to watch the Springboks take on the British Lions in rugby. The day was aptly summed up by Tyrone Smith, the head of the Supertubes Surfing Foundation when he commented “It does not get any better than this”.
Those who still had energy left then managed to drag themselves off to the Mexican, the venue of the still talked about opening function of the Xcel Supertubes Showdown nearly a month ago.
Below: Dylan Lighfoot (14 yrs old) is a name to watch in the future about to cut back on a big Supertubes wall
The final was a tense affair with Supertubes legend Warren Dean trading barrels with Ryan Payne, with Payne eventually getting the nod from the judges and the invite to the Von Zipper Wild Card Trials. Three of the VZ trialists will get the opportunity to surf in the 09 Billabong Pro which will be held in Jeffreys Bay in July.
Final results of the Xcel Supertubes Showdown:
1. Ryan Payne
2. Warren Dean
3. Deon Lategan
4. Stan Badger
Black weekend for Jeffreys Bay as criminals run amok
“This is one of the worst weekends Jeffreys Bay has ever experienced crime wise”. This comment comes from a long serving law enforcement officer in J’Bay as 11 houses were robbed and 8 serious assaults took place during a black weekend in our small town.
Tourists to J’Bay were also targeted and two tent sites were hit over the weekend in the Jeffreys Bay caravan park.
Stoves and petrol were stolen and one of the tents was cut open and possessions removed.
A number of assaults took place in Pellsrus/Ocean View that can be directly attributed to shebeens operating after closing time. The Police have undertaken to target this crime but need support from the Municipality as many of the laws being broken are actually municipal by laws and need to be policed by the Kouga Law Enforcement officers.
Two attempted murders took place in Pellsrus both involving knives. One robbery took place outside Spur. The Police have leads on this case and arrests will follow shortly.
C-Place experienced a crime wave over the weekend with 3 house breakings taking place in the suburb. Pellsrus/Ocean View were the other suburbs where a number of house breakings took place.
Again some of these house breakings appear to be related to alcohol abuse. There was one house breaking in Wavecrest. In many of these instances burglar bars were forced to gain entry.
Please take care when walking on the beach alone, especially women. A lady from Jeffreys Bay was harassed at the Supers car park on Saturday morning by two men.
Luckily a dog came to her rescue and tried to bite one of the harassers. The two men were chased away and seem to part of the crew that hangs on the corner at Surfer Girl.
This is not the first incident of this nature along the Supers beach and the Community Police Forum (CPF) has organized regular raids of the Supertubes Park to ensure criminals don’t use the Park as a base for their activities.
Aston Bay/Paradise Beach were once again the quiet suburbs in Jeffreys Bay. This is probably due to the crime prevention operation that took place in the suburbs last weekend and the highly active neighbourhood watches that brook no nonsense in their communities.
Artists against crime
Renowned Jeffreys Bay artist Stephen Bibb has joined the war against crime in Jeffreys Bay. Stephen has donated one of his paintings that will be given to an individual or an organization that has signed up as a member of the J’Bay Community Police Forum (CPF) by the end of June 2009.
“Safety and security is an extremely emotive issue in this country, it is time that we all started coming together as communities and taking back the streets from this scourge that is sucking the life from this land” said Bibb.
He urged people to join up with the CPF “We are realizing very swiftly that the only way to stand up against these cowardly gangsters and brutal thugs, who prey on the decent and largely defenceless public, relying largely on our fear and our apathy, is to become involved in defending our communities in any way that we can”.
“By joining the CPF and getting on the mailing list that’ll keep you up to date on what’s really happening in your community in the fight against crime.
Becoming more vigilant and security-conscious, all of us will be contributing to the solution and helping the dedicated men and women who make our town and ultimately our country a safe place for all of us”.
Sign up as a member of the CPF by emailing
sue@petimberhomes.co.za (membership is free)
Check out Stephen’s art at his website at www.stephenbibbart.com
DRINK DRIVERS UNDER THE COSH IN J BAY
CRIME UPDATE
Drink driving was targeted over the weekend in Jeffreys Bay and five arrests were made by Kouga traffic officials.
Numerous drivers received warnings and others were fined for a variety of offences. Residents must take note that drink driving will not be tolerated by the Kouga Municipality’s Law Enforcement officials. Regular operations targeting drink driving will be held in conjunction with the Police, the neighbourhood watches and the CPF.
A highly successful anti crime operation was held on Friday night in Jeffreys Bay. The Police helicopter helped officers on the ground flush out suspected house breakers as well as providing aerial visibility during the evening.
The Aston Bay and Paradise Beach Neighbourhood Watches were joined by CPF members from Pellsrus and Wavecrest, the Police Crime Prevention Unit, Security companies and the Police Sector managers in a show of force in the suburbs.
Road blocks, foot patrols and vehicle patrols ensured the suburbs were safe before the Watches moved off into Wavecrest to assist police with visible policing and stop and search operations.
Despite Law Enforcements best efforts, a rape still occurred in Pellsrus/Ocean View over the weekend and a murder occurred in Wavecrest. The rape appears to be alcohol related while the murder is under intensive investigation and several leads are being followed up by the Jeffreys Bay detectives.
PHONING THE POLICE STATION
The CPF has received a number of complaints from the community that it is difficult trying to contact the police station and that calls are often not answered.
After an investigation by the CPF the following has been established:
Phoning 10111 from a cell phone can land the caller up at a police station literally anywhere in the country. The cell phone relays the call to a receiver or cell phone tower. It does happen that a call can be routed to a receiver in a different town from where the call in being made. This means phoning 10111 from a cell phone in Jeffreys Bay can be routed to a police station in Port Elizabeth for example.
The numbers of the police station which are found in the telephone book are also incorrect. Back office numbers have some inexplicable reason been supplied and that is the reason why phones are not being answered especially after office hours.
The correct numbers are the correct numbers to phone:
Community Service Centre : 042-2006802 / 2006803
The above number is the one to phone at the Charge Office
Fire-Arm Licenses : 042-2006835 / 2006841
Sector Managers : 042-2006844
Detective Services : 042-2006600 / 2006627
Stock Theft Unit : 042-2007000 / 2007026
SIGN UP AS A MEMBER OF THE CPF
Renowned Jeffreys Bay artist Stephen Bibb has joined the war against crime. Stephen has donated one of his paintings to the CPF and will be given to an individual or an organization that has signed up as a member of the CPF by the end of June 2009.
The giclee archival reproduction is called golden sunrise. Application forms can be obtained by emailing the secretary of the CPF, Sue Smit on sue@petimberhomes.co.za The completed form must be returned to Sue by the end of June.
The CPF wishes to thank Stephen for his contribution to keeping our community safe. Check out his website at www.stephenbibbart.com
Is Eastern Province rugby being shafted again?
Cheeky Watson and SA Rugby have been punting 16 June as the launch date for the Southern Kings, the franchise that would revive rugby in the Eastern Cape.
The Kings were going to play in the Super 15 after two seasons in the Currie Cup. The weary fans from Port Elizabeth accepted that there would be a few tough seasons until the Kings found their feet in top flight rugby.
But, we would be watching the Crusaders and the Sharks and the Bulls playing in our back garden again and that alone would be worth watching our team take a hammering or two along the way. There is a proud rugby tradition in Port Elizabeth and without a doubt we would have toppled some big name teams along the way.
There is no reason why the hills of Ciskei should not be able to match the prop factory that exists in Zimbabwe and that in a few years there would be new “Beasts” and Mjati’s coming through the ranks.
The rugby schools are here and schools like Selborne, Queens, Dale and Grey College have produced generation after generation of Springbok rugby players. Grassroots development programmes could feed talented youngsters into the rugby schools and then into the franchise with relative ease as the infrastructure is already in place.
Warning lights were flickering and alarm bells were ringing when it was announced that the extra super rugby franchise would be based in Australia. There were even a few ridiculous statements that the Kings would be based overseas.
Let’s face facts now. Under the current system the Kings will not make it over the long haul and rugby will continue along the path of terminal decline in the Eastern Province.
The team that has been selected to play the British Lions is a makeshift one at best and diehard EP supporters will battle to connect with this team. Even the doomed Southern Spears seemed to have more local support when they played the Cheetahs at the Boet Erasmus stadium a few years ago.
From reports on the game EP played against Western Province last weekend it is clear that rugby is not improving in the province. Cheeky Watson must act quickly and decisively if he wants to save Eastern Province rugby. And that includes using whatever political connections he has to safeguard the game for generations to come in the nursery of South African rugby.
CRIME UPDATE – Jeffreys Bay
The J’Bay Police were again hard at work this weekend and made sure shebeens (illegal taverns) closed down at the legal closing time. These actions again saw a drop in contact related crimes in Ocean View/Pellrus over the weekend.
However, there were reported assaults in J’Bay Central, Mondplaas and C Place. There were house breakings in Wavecrest, Aston Bay and Ocean View/Pellsrus. Two bicycles were stolen in Noorsekloof Road and a business was robbed in Da Gama Road.
There was a rape reported from Tjoksville and Police are investigating. One drink driving arrest was made in C Place and residents are warned that a drink driving operation will take place this coming weekend in Jeffreys Bay.
House breakings have occurred in Humansdorp where suspects are gaining access through the roof. This modus operandi has not spread to Jeffreys Bay yet but residents are urged not to leave ladders lying around at night, thereby making it easier for criminals.
A visitor to Jeffreys Bay was robbed at the Nedbank ATM last weekend whilst drawing money. This incident occurred during the day and residents are urged to be aware and remain vigilant when using ATM’s.
The Police have announced that 64 stolen motor vehicles were recovered from the East London area. It is unclear at this stage whether any of the recovered vehicles come from Jeffreys Bay, but it is suspected that syndicates from the former Ciskei region have been active in the town.
Should you wish to be added to the CPF mailing list, send a request to kougaswim@vodamail.co.za
Has the professional era doomed rugby in Johannesburg?
From proud days when the rugby team from Johannesburg was known as Transvaal and could sweep all before their path in South Africa, the new team, the Golden Lions have turned their fans against them, fired their coach and the administrators are making strange statements.
The excellent article written by Rugby Guru on www.sport24.co.za blogs highlights a massive problem in the game in South Africa and one that has been caused by the shift into the professional game or the modern era of rugby.
The Lions were thrashed by the British Lions 74-10 in Johannesburg and it is doubtful that a team from Gauteng has ever put up such a poor performance against an international touring team before.
What will the Golden Lions fans do should their team fall out of the Super 15 and become a spent force in South African rugby? How do you, as a loyal fan actually support another team or province in South Africa? Could a born and bred Joburg boykie suddenly become a Shark or Bulls or Cheetahs supporter?
True supporters don’t bail on their team just because they playing badly. Any avid sports fan would have grown up in Johannesburg wanting to play for the Transvaal primary schools rugby or cricket or swimming team. Local was lekker and that’s how we grew up in South Africa. The Cape Town people supported Western Province who are now known as the Stormers, Durban people supported the Banana Boys and if you came from Port Elizabeth, you supported EP.
Going to the Boet Erasmus to support Eastern Province in the 1970‘s and 1980’s was an exciting affair. The curtain raisers started at about 11am and school boy fans would rush to the Boet in their droves to watch and hook up with other mates. Later on, just before the main game, the stadium would start filling up with the hard core, blue collar EP rugby supporters.
The Boet Erasmus playing field was surrounded by wire to prevent the fans from running onto the field. It wasn’t always difficult to understand why. The Boet was always an intimidating place for other teams and the supporters certainly played their part.
The ouks from Despatch would start vloeking the opposition players, with big men like Kevin De Klerk and Moaner Van Heerden copping a lot of abuse. Oranges would be thrown at players with the big farmers from Patensie joining in with their biltong. A referee had even been klapped in the tunnel long before anybody had heard of Piet Van Zyl.
Throughout the 1980’s EP competed in the highest echelons of South African rugby and even if they never won the Currie Cup, that didn’t bother the ardent EP supporter. We shouted for our team whether we won or lost the rugby and would cheer our team when they won the fight.
However professionalism killed competitive rugby quickly in the Eastern Cape. Slowly even the die hard fan stopped supporting EP and the team ended up not even being able to attract fans when playing at a school field in Humansdorp. EP dropped to becoming the worst provincial team in South African rugby.
This slide from grace was dismaying for the EP fan and we became the first fans in South Africa to lose our team. That is why we the disenfranchised fans from Port Elizabeth support the move to have a Super 15 team in our town.
What South African rugby needs is a bit of the old style promotion/relegation games. And we cannot allow the administrators to hide behind their lack of performance any longer. The administrators wrecked the game in the Eastern Cape and a similar situation now exists in Johannesburg.
Should a team fall out of the Super 15 for a season and lose some sponsorship……..deal with it Mr. Administrator and look for another job.
The top five teams in the Currie Cup must play in the Super 15, as the Aussies seemed to have scooped the extra franchise in the competition.
And if that promotion/relegation place took place between the Golden Lions and the Southern Kings one thing is for certain. Rugby Guru will be shouting for his team just as hard as I will be shouting for mine.
Showdown at Supertubes, JBay……..
The invitees for the Xcel Supertubes Showdown have been announced. All 16 have earned their spurs in the surf hierachy in Jeffreys Bay and will be competed for the opportunity to surf against the top 44 surfers in the world in the 09 Billabong Pro in July.
Heat draw for the Xcel Supertubes Showdown:
Heat 1
Warren Dean
Ashley Walter
Ari Kraak
Steven Sawyer
Heat 2
Ryan Payne
Stuart Shelver
Dane Morris
Dominique Abersalie
Heat 3
Craig Els
Stanley Badger
Drew Thysman
Remi Petersen
Heat 4
Deon Lategan
Berti Stuurman
Nick van Eeden
Dylan Lightfoot
PS:
Who was the J Bay local dishing out tequila instead of snot klaps until the early morning hours at the opening function of the Xcel Supertubes Showdown in J’Bay?
BILLABONG JOINS WAR AGAINST CRIME IN JEFFREYS BAY
House breakings remained the biggest problem for crime fighters in Jeffreys Bay during May. The good news is that the number of reported cases has dropped nearly 30 % since the peak in April.
This drop can be attributed to the efforts of the Neighbourhood Watches, the Police, the Security Companies and the CPF who have all combined in ensuring criminals do not find easy pickings in Jeffreys Bay.
The vast majority of house breakings took place in Pellsrus/Ocean View and Wavecrest. Most of the breakings occurred between 12 pm at night and 6 am in the morning. Robbers generally gained entrance through windows, sliding doors or forced burglar bars open.
The theft of motor vehicles remained a problem with syndicates from out of town moving into Jeffreys Bay and stealing cars. This means that it is difficult crime to prevent, with visible policing being the best method the Law Enforcement agencies have at their disposal.
Theft of possessions out of motor vehicles spiked again during May and many times residents made it easier for criminals by leaving valuables lying in open view in their cars. Guest house owners are also urged to warn their guests to avoid becoming victims of crime in our town.
CPF members who join the Police in special operations were given a boost during May when local surf company Billabong sponsored 30 T – shirts for the volunteers to wear when fighting crime in the town.
The Aston Bay Neighbourhood Watch also sponsored the CPF with a radio, car decals and lights for two vehicles to ensure more visible policing.
