Durban - Police have increased patrols in Pinetown and New Germany following incidents of water meter thefts.
Criminals have also tampered with water meters or have stolen copper pipes.
Mathews Buthelezi, a member of the Pinetown Community Policing Forum (CPF), said the crimes started a long time ago and have been ongoing.
“We don’t know who these people are, but we know that it is happening in different areas. It is sporadic,” Buthelezi said.
“Patrols have been increased and we will keep an eye out, but the community must also be vigilant,” he said.
Buthelezi said it was possible that the stolen water meters and copper pipes were being sold to scrap yards.
“From time to time police go to scrap yards to check if there are any water meters or copper pipes, but it is not easy to tell because they have been chopped and crushed,” he said.
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala confirmed two recent meter thefts in New Germany.
“Investigations are continuing. These are isolated incidents. Pinetown police are doing constant patrols in the areas. We are appealing to community members to report suspicious people and vehicles in their areas, and not to buy stolen goods,” she said.
Following the release of the Victims of Crime Survey, chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police Francois Beukman said police visibility in communities and effective community policing should be intensified.
“The finding that housebreaking and burglary is the most prevalent crime affecting South Africans necessitates that the South African Police Service intensifies the visibility of police units throughout the country. Regular police patrols, more roadblocks in hotspot areas, efficient sector policing, increased co-operation with community patrollers and community policing forums, private security companies and neighbourhood watches are key to finding solutions,” Beukman said.
Community policing forums needed to be underpinned by better response times from police units to crime incidents, he said. Detection rates for various crime categories were still too low and the detective services division should ramp up its efforts to deal with current deficiencies.