CRIME ON THE INCREASE IN JEFFREYS BAY

After a relatively calm period, numerous housebreakings were reported in the upmarket suburb of Wavecrest in Jeffreys Bay over the past weekend.

Mimosa, Pagoda and Poplar Streets as well as Palm Crescent were all targeted but housebreakings took place in other areas of Wavecrest as well.

 

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(Above: The world famous waves of Jeffreys Bay are being threatened by the ever increasing crime wave on land)

 

Most of the attacks took place after 2 AM and the method of entry was by breaking and entering through windows. In two instances, doors were forced open, one of them being a sliding door.

The brazen thieves even entered homes occupied by residents and the community is urged to make sure that all access points to your homes are secure before going to bed.

The Police are actively working on the problem and several known housebreakers and other suspects will be arrested in the next few days to see if they are linked to the robberies.

A bakkie was also stolen in Wavecrest over the weekend and on a more positive note, an arrest was made in Seetuin Road where a suspect had stolen goods in his possession and is appearing in court today.

Pellsrus was the other crime hotspot over the weekend with housebreakings and assaults being reported. The Ocean View Neighbourhood Watch again conducted foot patrols over the weekend and only one incident was reported from this suburb.

Aston Bay and Paradise Beach were quiet with no reported incidents taking place. Once again the Neighbourhood Watches in these suburbs must be commended for the sterling job they do in keeping crime under control.

A fraud case involved the purchase of a bakkie was laid with the Police. The modus operandi is a “bargain bakkie” is advertised and after the potential buyer has deposited the funds in the seller’s bank account; the seller disappears with the bakkie.

 There was one arrest for drink driving over the weekend and more operations targeting this crime will be held in the near future.

CPF ELECTIONS The elections will be held on 21 September at 18h00 at the Detective offices in St Croix Street. Should your organization not have registered kindly contact Sue Smit for mandate forms at sue@petimberhomes.co.za

Wavecrest, Jeffreys Bay under siege

There has been a spike in house breakings in Wavecrest with another two incidences occurring last night. It appears that criminals are gaining access through burglar bars and through unprotected doors.

 Residents living in older houses are urged to check their burglar bars as in many instances, it is easy for criminals to loosen them and gain entry. The current modus operandi of the criminals in Wavecrest is to target houses that are occupied.

It does not matter what age the inhabitants are as pensioners as well as young people have been robbed whilst in their homes. The time frame that criminals have been invading homes is between 10pm and 4am.

However, the Jeffreys Bay Police have urged residents to be aware and take safety precautions from sunset as it appears that houses have been watched before the criminals decide who to target. Make sure outer doors and security doors are locked. Unprotected windows must be locked and an inspection of your burglar bars must be carried out to ensure it will not be easy for criminals to gain access.

Laptops, cell phones, cash and guns are what the criminals have been seeking when robbing houses. It is suspected that locals are involved and the Police are following several leads. A well known house breaker has recently been released from jail and is being sought by the Police for questioning.

 Ongoing operations involving the CPF, the Police, Security companies and the neighbourhood watches will be taking place until the situation is under control. Residents must also take note that ATM’s are being monitored by criminals and the necessary precautions must be taken when drawing cash, especially when the surrounding area seems deserted

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, who is well known for his surf art.

(above: Stephen Bibb oil painting on board.  Ocean dreams)

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”.

Check out Stephen’s art at his website at http://www.stephenbibbart.com

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.

A Night out with the Jeffreys Bay Police

A massive crime prevention operation took place in Jeffreys Bay on Friday night that involved Police from Humansdorp, Traffic officials from the Kouga Municipality, the CPF, Security Companies, the Jeffreys Bay Crime Prevention Unit and the Sector Policemen.

In 2008 I was elected onto the executive of the local Community Police Forum (CPF). The CPF is the only community organization in South Africa that operates under an act of Parliament.  This means the CPF has the powers to accompany the Police when they perform their duties and is mandated to do cell visitations to monitor jail conditions at the local police station amongst other functions.

Here is a story about a night in the life of a Jeffreys Bay policeman.

On Friday night a massive crime prevention operation took place in Jeffreys Bay that involved Police from Humansdorp, Traffic officials from the Kouga Municipality, the CPF, Security Companies, the Jeffreys Bay Crime Prevention Unit and the Sector Policemen. 

A seizure operation on an illegal shebeen (tavern) had been planned and in a well co-ordinated operation about 13 police vans and a flat bed truck moved into the shanty suburb of Ocean View.  The objective was to close down the shebeen, confiscate the liquor and if possible even the fridges, which would all be used as evidence in the prosecution of the owner. 

All those involved in the operation met at the local police station at 8 pm for a final briefing.  Firstly everybody dispersed through the suburbs of the town as a show of force to display that all the arms of Jeffreys Bay Law Enforcement meant business that night. 

After a relatively quiet week crime was on the rise in town. A spike in theft from motor vehicles had been experienced as well as a few cars that had been stolen.  The streets were patrolled looking for known faces as a few habitual criminals were back on the streets after being released from prison. 

The first of a number of arrests for drunk driving also occurred.  Youngsters who were endangering their own and other people’s lives by doing donuts outside the municipal building in the main road and jumping stop streets at high speed soon saw the cells at the police station start to fill up. 

When the raid on the shebeen took place, the Crime Prevention Unit stopped outside the converted house and quickly moved in to clear the illegal tavern of its customers.  While some policemen stayed outside to guard the police vans against possible attack, others moved in to assist with the confiscation of crates and crates of beer and other drinks. 

Once the liquor was dropped off at the police station, the paperwork began.  Itemizing every bottle of beer and the cash was a painstaking affair, to ensure that no mistakes were made that could be challenged in court after all the hard and dangerous work had been completed. 

Then it was backs to the streets to sort out fights that had broken out, attend to requests for help from the public who were being robbed and domestic violence cases that kept being reported throughout the night. Other night clubs and taverns that had been operating past their permissible closing times were visited by the Police and told to obey the law. 

While cruising down Diaz Road at 2 am, an alert policeman spotted a violent and habitual criminal from Thornhill lurking amongst the cars and looking suspicious.  The close co-operation within the Kouga Law Enforcement branches quickly revealed that the man was on bail from a case and that there was another suspect operating with him who was wanted by the Thornhill Police. 

Arrests were made for more traffic offences as well as assaults which had caused the cells to fill up. By 4 am Jeffreys Bay started to slumber off and the dedicated individuals from all the Law Enforcement agencies that are tasked with keeping us safe in our beds at night headed home to catch a few hours of well deserved sleep.

 

 

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