Durban - A man was caught on CCTV footage removing a light fitting in the form of a half lantern from a boundary wall in Morningside on Thursday.
The house is situated on Springfield Road between Essenwood and Musgrave Road and despite the high volume of cars using this road, it did not disturb this petty criminal.
The footage shows the man crossing the road towards the house. He is carrying a carrier bag around his shoulder. He stops and looks at the wall. He then removes what appears to be a screw driver from his back pocket. He carefully unclips or unscrews the bottom of the light.
He keeps looking in all directions to see if he is being watched.
The man unclips it off the wall. He then makes two attempts on the electrical cord before cutting it off.
The video was posted on the Safety and Security WhatsApp group. It is not certain if the matter was reported to the SAPS.
Geoff Embling, a freelance writer who works for SANParks in the
Western Cape penned his thoughts on petty crime for the Star Newspaper recently.
“The problem with the definition “petty crime” is that it is not actually petty. Stealing should not be defined as petty. In some countries you can lose your life for stealing, or at least your hand, but in South Africa theft is so commonplace that we take it for granted and laugh it off as petty,” he said.
“People who have principles which deeply oppose theft can take a huge psychological blow when they have something stolen from them. What is seen as petty theft by our police force and part of society, often leaves the victim feeling violated, insecure, helpless and angry. Not only have they had their possessions removed, but a brazen and potentially dangerous criminal has entered their property and often vandalised it in order to steal what they want.”
“The mental damage doesn’t stop there; “petty theft” creates fear and bad feelings. Living in constant fear of having an intruder enter your boundaries to vandalise and steal, and having this classified as petty, while not being able to do anything about it, can make a person angry and bitter. Incessant worry affects the majority of South Africans of all races, and this can change our brain chemistry and turn us into suspicious and bitter people“.
Daily News