Housebreakings spike in Westville North
A Westville North man was lucky to escape a home invasion unharmed after armed robbers assaulted him in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday. Blue Security operations manager Brian Jackson said the 2.46am Ashwin Avenue robbery was one of eight incidents reported to the company in the suburb over the past week.
“The resident was asleep when three robbers armed with knives smashed a bedroom window to gain entry onto the property before assaulting him, grabbing his car keys and fleeing in his car,” he said. Jackson said the resident did not require medical attention. His car was fitted with a tracking device and later recovered in Claremont, while other items reported stolen included cellphones and jewellery.
Jackson said a housebreaking incident was reported in Aberfeldy Road and two were reported in Rannoch Place. “Housebreakers derailed a driveway gate and forced open the front door in the first case and fled with televisions and jewellery in the resident’s car, while a resident disturbed a housebreaker who had broken into her garage in Rannoch Place and stolen meat and cold drinks,” he said.
Housebreakers hit a second home in Rannoch Road on Friday at 3.15pm and fled with a television and an amplifier. Jackson said housebreakers had also targeted houses in Strathay Road and Struan Road on Thursday.
“On two separate occasions this week a resident alerted our control centre to the presence of an intruder on her property who fled when he realised she had spotted him, while in the second case a burglar broke a window and ransacked a bedroom before fleeing with a wallet, a paintball gun and jewellery,” he said.
Jackson added that housebreakers had also forced open the security gate of a business premises in Jan Hofmeyer Road which they ransacked before fleeing with six computers.
Westville SAPS attended the scene of the crimes.
Jackson advised residents to be security conscious and to work closely with security companies and the police to fight crime by reporting suspicious activity such as unknown vehicles or individuals loitering in the neighbourhood. “We urge both residents and business owners in Westville North and Westville to be vigilant as we head towards the festive season as there has been a spike in armed robberies and housebreakings reported over the past couple of weeks,” he said.
“Gate-crashing has become a common modus operandi and it has become almost essential for home owners to install cost effective anti-gate crashing kits to their gates that can be linked to the home alarm system for an early warning signal should anyone tamper with the gate,” he said.
“Ensure that your alarm systems are in good working order and if you have external security such as beams and electric fences switch them on at night for an extra layer of security. CCTV surveillance cameras have also proved to be a deterrent and can help the police and security companies in their investigations should an incident occur,” he said. http://www.bluesecurity.co.za/housebreakings-spike-in-westville-north/
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