Durban - Several months after a Westville mother and her family were held up by a gang of armed robbers, she says she still has moments of panic.
“It definitely has a long lasting effect,” the woman told the Mercury yesterday. “It affects the way you think and live. We’ve had to beef up security and become more vigilant."
In March, the woman, her husband and their two young boys were accosted by three men who stormed their home late at night.
For three hours, the men held them at gunpoint.
Then they made the woman’s husband drive them to Clermont and drop them there.
The incident was one of 113 home robberies reported in Westville during 2016 / 2017.
This emerged in the SAPS’ annual crime statistics, which were released yesterday.
The figure indicated that home robberies in the area increased by 13% since 2015 / 2016. Burglaries were also on the rise there.
In Durban North, burglaries were down but home robberies were up.
Marshall Security’s Kyle van Reenen confirmed this.
“House robberies and violent crimes - and firearm related crimes - have increased over the year,” he said yesterday. “Minor crimes, like theft out of a motor vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle - have also increased."
The Mercury