A break-in at a bank in Mitchells Plain Town Centre halted business for the day but also highlighted the crime that shoppers and traders have to deal with daily.
Early yesterday a brazen criminal targeted Capitec Bank, smashing a window. According to police, the criminal’s attempt to get hold of one of the computers was thwarted by the burglar alarm.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk confirmed the incident, adding that no suspects have been arrested.
Police are investigating a case of business burglary.
It is unknown what other property is missing at this stage. A trader at the town centre, who did not want to be named out of fear of victimisation, says the criminal act was com mitted by an “opportunist”.
“No person in their right mind would be walking around here at that time of the night. That was the work of a tik kop (drug addict),” he says.
However, traders still feel safety and security should be prioritised at the town centre. Mitchells Plain Community Policing Forum (CPF) chairperson Abie Isaacs says they have “a number of concerns” relating to crime in the shopping hub.
“I must emphasise that safety and security is a priority for our CPF. At the town centre we must look at having a multi-faceted approach which will target roots to a few of the problems at the CBD.
“The police, along with (City of Cape Town) Law Enforcement, conduct regular operations at the CBD and we have another organisation, Hawkers against Crime, which also focuses on safety in that area. We are also waiting for the City of Cape Town to deliver on their promise of a CID (city improvement district) for the Mitchells Plain CBD,” Isaacs says.
Trader Mieshkah Cassiem urged informal and formal businesses to unite against crime in the Mitchells Plain CBD.
“We might not be able to eradicate it but we can prevent it. Town centre is still an investor’s dream that is why we have the big retailers trading here,” Cassiem says.
Councillor Johan van der Merwe, the city’s mayoral committee member for finance, says the city has been approached by some property owners and their representatives regarding the establishment of a CID in the Mitchells Plain CBD.
“The initial and exploratory process of pursuing the establishment of a CID is under way and all council and legal processes must be followed,” Van der Merwe says.