Date posted: June 19, 2018

Dear neighbours,

Crime Update

We have unfortunately had a further spate of what seem to be relatively unplanned and opportunistic thefts, mainly in area around the lower part of Beach Road. This has included the following:

-        thefts of a phone out of a car parked outside the Red Herring on 15 May

-        thefts from an unlocked house on Beach Rd on or before May 18

-        a bag-snatching in Acacia Rd on 26 May

-        the theft of bicycles from an open garage in Mountain Rd on 6 June

-        the theft of a television from an unoccupied house on Beach Rd.

Extra Vigilance

Whist we have been relatively lucky, of late, to have been spared any recent incidents of home invasions or the sophisticated break-ins we have had in the past, this is a concerning trend as past experiences suggest that repeated successful minor crime does seem to lead to more serious events, so we would urge everyone to up the game a little so we can stop this in its tracks!

This means an extra little attention in terms of both home security and with regard to taking note of, and considering communicating anything unusual on the streets. There is no harm in putting out a WhatsApp or asking our ADT officers to investigate when there is something of concern, as long as we are all careful to promote the same sense of mutual concern and respectfulness for one another that we would expect ourselves!

Riding Equipment Theft

A more concerning incident that fortunately had a reasonably positive outcome was the theft of a large amount of riding equipment, including 7 saddles, to the value of over R250 000.00 from stables on Katzenellenbogen Road on the night of 1 June.

Thanks to footage on a CCTV camera at the stable, the perpetrator was identified as a former employee and was apprehended with most of the stolen property a few days later, with police also following up on strong leads regarding accomplices and the outstanding items. This is the latest in a series of incidents at various equestrian establishments in what has been an ongoing trend for some time now.

We have noted that some of the stables seem to be relatively poorly secured, despite the value of some of the equipment stored there, whilst it would also seem apparent that much of this kind of theft is specialised in nature and carried out by people with knowledge of horses and a specific market for the items stolen.

Solutions

We believe that there are a number of affordable solutions that could be employed to secure tack-rooms more effectively, so we would like to urge stable owners and those keeping equipment there to speak to members of our committee and we can make a few suggestions.

Fidelity/ADT also has additional, specialised capacity in terms of investigating and intervening more directly in response to specific problems and this is also a discussion we would be willing to facilitate with them should this kind of incident continue to re-occur.

Holidays

As many of us will be taking advantage of the school holidays to find some drier weather in other parts of the country, we would like to also remind everyone to let neighbours and you security company know if you are going to be away.

Please also think about things like bushes and beams, and of course loose windows and doors in these winter storms!

Rubbish Bins

We also repeat our request to EVERYONE to make the relatively small effort it takes to put bins out in the morning. Aside from the benefit it has in terms of limiting the time-period during which people picking through bins (and those pretending to, for more nefarious reasons) are in the area, the horrible mess that results from an upturned bin in an overnight storm, is also kept to a minimum.

Voluntary Contributions – Reminder!

Last year we had a number of donations from residents who said that they’d like to continue to donate on an annual basis, providing they were reminded to do so. 

Here’s the reminder! 

Our bank details are:

Chapman's Peak Neighbourhood Watch
Standard Bank
Fish Hoek 036009
Current a/c 270 364 439

 

Wishing everyone a warm and safe winter!

The CPNW Committee