Johannesburg -The Gauteng Department of Community Safety has released the province’s smash-and- grab hotspots, as the opposition and civil society organisations insist the police aren’t doing enough to deal with the crime.
Gordon Road in Roodepoort has been identified as the number one smash-and-grab hotspot in the province, and Pretoria Central police station had the most incidents reported.
This is according to answers by Community Safety MEC Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane in the provincial legislature last week.
The DA asked the MEC to give details about the number of smash- and-grab incidents in the province over the past two years, especially the roads where the incidents occur, and to identify the police stations with the most cases.
Nkosi-Malobane named the top 30 hotspots where the highest number of smash-and-grab attacks occurred between April and December last year.
The areas are wide apart, indicating the crime occurs across the province.
According to the MEC, there were 1 306 smash-and-grabs reported to the police in the 2013-14 financial year and 999 between April and December.
Pretoria Central police station took the top spot on the list, while Sandton police station came in at number two, followed by the Joburg Central Hillbrow, Douglasdale and Florida police stations.
Some of the main locations identified are Rondebult Road in Bartlett; 14th Avenue in Randburg, which was listed as number four, and Main Road in Florida, which came in at number six. Rondebult Road, one of the main routes in Ekurhuleni, was recorded as the number one smash-and-grab hot-spot in 2013-2014.
Main routes with high traffic volumes around the province were also subjected to smash-and-grab attacks and appeared in top positions on the list.
Intersections such as the corner of Malibongwe Drive and the N1, the corner of Witkoppen and Cambridge roads, and the corner of Barry Hertzog Avenue and Napier Road were also on the list.
Gauteng DA MPL Kate Lorimer urged police to take more action at the hotspots. “There needs to be more police visibility on the roads, especially under bridges where the smash-and-grabbers hide,” she said, adding that SAPS and metro police officers needed to collaborate more to combat smash-and-grabs.
“They need to communicate with each other and work together,” she said.
Justice Project SA chairman Howard Dembovsky said active policing was key to clearing the streets from smash-and-grabbers.
He said, however, that while the police were aware of the location of the hotspots, they didn’t always do anything about it. “If the hotspots are known, why are there no resources deployed there to stop criminals?” he asked.
Dembovsky said statistics regarding hotspots were not always reliable as many people didn’t report smash-and-grabs to the police. “Some people take the decision not to report these crimes because they feel police don’t do anything about it,” he said.
But Joburg metro police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said Operation Ke Molao (It’s the Law) was launched last month to deal with smash-and- grabbers at the hotspots. These included arresting window washers, beggars and vendors found loitering and accused of contributing to crime around highways, by-ways, intersections and on the streets.
The operation was continuing and the metro police had pumped more resources, including more officers and a fleet of vehicles, into combating this type of crime.
The police were adamant that their officers would continuously monitor smash-and grab locations.
“Wherever we identify a problem regarding criminal activity, our officers will be there,” Lieutenant Kay Makhubela said.
HOTSPOTS
1. Pretoria Central
* Pretoria Rd
* Eeufees Rd
* Cnr Eeufees and Christiaan De Wet
* Cnr Garsfontein Rd and N1 Freeway
* Cnr De Villebois Mareuil Dr and Garsfontein Rd
* Hans Strijdom Dr
* Cnr Garsfontein Rd and Philadelphia Rd
* Cnr Cussonia Ave and Meiring Naude Rd
* Watermeyer/N4
2. Sandton and Douglasdale
* Cnr Cambridge rd and Witkoppen Rd
* Cnr Witkoppen Rd
* William Nicol Drive and N1 Freeway
* Cnr Main and Witkoppen Rd
* Woodmead Ave
* Cnr Maxwell Dr and Witkoppen Rd
* Cnr Woodmead Rd and Woodlands Dr
* Cnr Rondebult Rd and Pretoria Rd
* Cnr Witkoppen Rd and Bowling Ave
* Cnr Main Rd and Robin Rd
* Cnr Main Rd and Sloane St
* CnrKatherine St and Grayston Drive
* Cnr Marlboro Dr and South Way
3 JHB Central and HillBrow
* Cnr Harrow Rd and Hendon St
* Cnr Harrow Rd and Becket St
* Cnr Harrow Rd and Abel Rd
* Cnr Crownwood Rd and Amethist Rd
* Barry Hertzog Av and Napier Rd
* Empire Rd
* Main Reef Rd
* Johanna St
* Commissioner st
4 Honeydew and Florida
* Cnr 14th Ave and Hendrik Potgieter Rd
* 14th Ave
* Beyers Naude
what to do
* Keep all valuables, including bags, purses and cellphones, inthe boot and out of sight inside the car.
* Lock all the doors of your car and keep the windows closed if possible.
* Stay alert while driving, especially when you stop at intersections or stop signs.
* Leave enough space between you and the car in front ofyou when you approach an intersection, allowing yourself a chance to escape in a potentially dangerous situation.
* Slow down when you reach a traffic light at night so that you reach it when it turns green.
The Star