Thanks to the following members of the Toti Community for their continued support;

• Barkers Attorneys, for their ongoing legal support.
• Brad Johnson of Adept Business Solutions for sorting out our Data Base and providing support and time.
• Rutherford Plumbers - we now have water in the caravan; coffee on these cold days
• Lords & Legends - bathroom facilities
• George Snodey for finding us a small fridge

We rely on the generosity of the members so much and someone always seems to come through for the CCPO and effectively the Toti community.

After each newsletter we get feedback and comments from members of the community; mostly positive I am pleased to report.  We would like to respond to a few questions we have been asked about the latest stats that were given.

We cannot measure what crime stats would be had the CCPO not existed just as we cannot control the rise and fall of criminal activities.  We are dealing with crime on a daily basis; making arrests continuously and appearing in court to make sure criminals are prosecuted.  The CCPO existed in 2007 and 2008 too so perhaps comparisons should be made from 2006 and the beginning of 2007 when we had 5 murders and attempted murders within as many weeks. A call to Supt. Grobler will confirm this.

We now have far more information about crime in the area than we had prior to the CCPO's existence. Over the past year George Snodey has, perhaps to our detriment, tried to document each and every incident as we always felt the SAPS stats were not a true reflection of what was really happening out there. This was largely due to the fact that a number of incidents were going unreported.

The stats being given in our newsletter are to give you an idea of what is happening out there.

The CCPO only exists for the community. All positive encouragement is very welcome as it makes the time we give to this organisation so rewarding.

Of course we would love to eradicate crime completely but the  reality of the matter is that , crime will always be an issue no matter where you are , all we can do is to try our best with the limited resources we have ,to keep it under control .

Dear Members

General:

A BMW sedan stolen during an armed robbery on July 6th in Warner Beach was reported to have been used in an armed robbery at the Exel garage Illovo Beach on Thursday the 9th just before 19:00, no shots were fired and there were no reported injuries although a large sum of cash was taken. No arrests have been made as yet.

On the morning of Friday 10 July CCPO/Blue Security vehicle patrol spotted a vehicle parked in the top end of Lewis Terrace, after interviewing the driver it was established that the driver was "helping his friend move house" while the driver was in the process of being interviewed an unidentified male came from the direction of the "friends house" and opened fire on the CCPO/Blue Security member, several shots were exchanged between the suspects and CCPO/Blue security, the suspect vehicle was then chased but the driver lost control and overturned near Durban International Airport, the suspects then fled the scene on foot.

After all the gun smoke and adrenaline had cleared it was discovered that the "friend's house" was a target for a house robbery and that the domestic worker had been tied-up before she could press her panic button. Fortunately no innocent people were injured during the incident and no property was stolen. As yet no suspects have been arrested that can positively be linked to this incident.

Crime:

Reported crime activity for the past week is less than a total of 40 cases, Burglaries and theft of motor vehicle are still high with most cars reported stolen from Beach Road Amanzimtoti, there appears to be no pattern in the time the thefts occur and it is believed that the car thieves operate in small groups from a vehicle that does not raise suspicion, this allows them easy and fast access to and from the areas they "shop" in.

Theft out of motor vehicle continues to be a headache, especially in "secure complexes" although it is noted that there may be high security walls and fences, this is still no reason to become complacent and leave ANY valuables in the vehicle, it is impossible to post a dedicated security guard at every members house or vehicle.

Muggings still pose a problem as individuals walk alone in isolated or bushy areas.

Crime prevention is a three way partnership between the CCPO, SAPS and the Amanzimtoti community, for Crime Prevention to work effectively, each entity in the three way partnership need to do their part, just because a member pays their subscriptions to a security company does not mean they can sit back behind thick curtains and be safe, any suspicious activity needs to be reported immediately to either the SAPS or CCPO radio control, no matter how trivial it may seem, vigilance saves lives and property.

Most community members hear of horrific crime stories or have been a victim of a robbery or burglary at home, the immediate reaction in most cases is to erect a 6 or 7 foot wall around their entire property as this makes them "feel safe" what they don't realise is that the criminal is a determined creature and sees these high walls as an ally, once they jump the high walls that keep you "safe" they are invisible to the surrounding neighbours and passing patrol vehicles and need only focus on the job at hand, when police or reaction vehicles respond to houses with these fortress walls it is very difficult to gain entry into the property fast enough to catch the criminals in the act. This is not a call to members to tear down the walls but think a little before you erect solid brick and mortar walls, rather a fence that allows people to see in and save some money for securing your home with electronic security equipment.

The same can be said for a great big "natural looking" garden, try keep dense bush and shrubs to a minimum, trim trees and undergrowth so that it is more difficult for criminals to hide, light up your garden with lighting that shines TOWARDS your house, that way if you are inside at night shadows are cast against your curtains or inside walls and will catch your attention rather than you having no clue as to how often your garden is being used as a criminals freeway.

Keep vigilant, keep safe.
Regards

The CCPO team
"There are costs incurred in crime prevention, but what value do you place on such prevention?"

General:

On Saturday morning 04 July at around 01:40 the CCPO was called to assist Chubb Security with an attempted burglary in Vasco Da Gama road, through a well co-coordinated team effort and the swift response from Metro Police Dog Unit, within 15 minutes one suspect was arrested hiding in the bush not far from the scene and admitted to the crime.

Incredibly a major theft-in-progress has been happening under communities' noses over the past few weeks and was only discovered by chance during a follow up on another case. On Monday 06 July a domestic worker from Park Drive Athlone Park was confronted by seven men near Dickens Road bridge, the men demanded her cell phone at knifepoint, she was brave enough to stuff the phone into her bra and challenge the group to get it themselves, she then armed herself with a plank she found nearby and beat her attackers until they fled into the bushes along the northbound freeway onramp at Twini Hill, the CCPO was called to the scene and accompanied the complainant to the bush where the men had fled to, not long after, four men were spotted and positively identified as the attackers, the men fled on foot up the freeway closely followed by CCPO and passing Metro Police Dog Handlers. Through good team work three men were arrested, two by CCPO Inspector Rupert Smit.

Upon a follow up from where the CCPO foot pursuit started it was established that the suspects were involved in copper cable theft over a distance of about 150 meters, spades, pick axes and cutting tools were found at the scene as well as a jacket containing documentation relating to a charge of "carrying a dangerous weapon" opened on the 2nd of July in Isipingo, it can be comfortably assumed that the same individual arrested and released for carrying a dangerous weapon on the Thursday, was one of the men who attempted to rob the complainant of her phone on the way to his "day job" of  copper cable theft on Monday , a truly versatile opportunist criminal.

The SAPS are now following up on the information detailed in the documentation and more arrests can be expected, as for the copper cable, all that "days takings" of stripped copper valued at over R6000 were recovered and handed back to Metro Electricity department.

As for theft-in-progress, these suspects had been digging a trench along the side of the freeway for a considerable length of time, possibly weeks and yet nobody had noticed as it was in plain sight and the suspects were assumed to be legitimate workers, criminals are not all suspicious and not all suspicious people are criminals.

Crime:

Reported crime activity for the past week is at a total of 32 reported cases, Burglaries are high with 8 residential break-ins reported, mostly in the Toti Berea area, although some are suspected to be "inside jobs".

Theft of motor vehicles has been low but still with no clear pattern; it is advisable to always park your vehicles behind locked gates if you have them.

One vehicle hijacked from the Winklespruit shopping Center was later recovered in Umgababa.

Common and Armed Robbery (muggings) are still high and individuals are again advised to commute in groups, fishermen are prime targets and should be especially aware of  strangers approaching, most often the mugger appears friendly and harmless until the weapon is produced and demands made.

The CCPO and Amanzimtoti SAPS Crime Prevention Unit will be stepping up patrols in all hot spot areas and welcome any information or leads from our community that can help make our community a safer place to live.

Keep vigilant, keep safe.
Regards

The CCPO team
"There are costs incurred in crime prevention, but what value do you place on such prevention?"

General:

The cold weather, early sunset and late sunrise has made the area a delight for criminals, commuters to and from work on foot are being targeted and people are once again advised to walk in groups and or take a longer more populated rout as muggers love singular targets in dark and lonely spots. House residents tend to keep indoors and do not venture outside into the cold to investigate the reason for the dogs barking or "that strange sound" crime prevention starts with the potential victim-you! If you are aware of your surroundings and have your own personal protection and or security strategies in place you stand a better chance of surviving or avoiding becoming another crime statistic.

For members with domestic workers alone at home during the day, it is advisable to get copies of the workers identity documents and residential particulars; this is as a safety measure as domestic workers are often used by syndicates to assist in their criminal activities. It should be made clear to the domestic worker that nobody unexpected or uninvited is permitted on the property and individuals such as council employees, meter readers, TV licence inspectors, waste water etc or people identifying themselves as such should be able to produce valid credentials to prove they are who they say they are.

Crime:

Reported crime activity has been relatively low for the past week with a total of 40 reported cases ranging from residential burglaries to theft out of motor vehicle. Theft of motor vehicle is still high with a total of 8 vehicles reported stolen.

Pedestrians are being targeted for muggings in the St Winifreds area, one incident occurred on the Winifred Close footbridge over the N2 Freeway when a youth on  his way home was confronted by two armed men and robbed of his cell phone and valuables.

A House Robbery was reported in Lewis Drive Amanzimtoti, the domestic worker was alone at home and confronted by 8 men, one armed with a firearm, a considerable amount of valuable household goods were removed, no arrests have been made as yet in this matter.

On the evening of 29 June CCPO Supervisor Mr. Gerald Jagers made two arrests in connection with car thefts in Beach Road Amanzimtoti, two black males attempted to steal a Toyota Tazz outside Sweetwater and were swiftly apprehended, the SAPS are now in the process of investigating links to other vehicle thefts in the area.

Members should also be on the lookout for a blue VW microbus ND 657-802, this vehicle has been positively linked to two attempted burglaries in the Amanzimtoti area, one in Toti central in the vicinity of the police station and the other an Athlone Park.

The SAPS and CCPO cannot cover every inch of the patrol area all of the time, law enforcement and crime prevention organizations rely on the eyes and ears of the public. It is of the utmost importance that any and all suspicious activity is reported and that all criminal activities no matter how trivial are reported to the SAPS so that accurate crime patterns can be traced for the effective deployment of manpower, remember a trivial case today will generally lead to a major one later, prevention is better than cure.

Keep vigilant, keep safe.
Regards

The CCPO Team