The chairperson of the CPF offers recommendations for safety.  

Tsakani – Tsakani CPF chairperson Mncedisi Somyo urged community members to be vigilant of their surroundings at all times. He said Tsakani has a high rate of car hijackings, mainly on Thursdays and Fridays.

“There are not many hijackings on Saturdays, but they still happen. We have noticed that many hijackings occur at night.

“People often park outside their homes at night while in the car. This attracts criminal activities, and motorists should refrain from such. If you visit someone, park the car inside the yard rather than outside the gate,” explained Somyo.

He urged drivers to do a stop-and-go when driving at night because many criminals target stop signs, robots and other stop areas.

He said motorists should not stop to check their cars when driving because hijackers have many tactics to get people to stop.

“We also have the challenge of learners who often skip school to drink alcohol or partake in other activities outside of the learning environment.

“We urge parents to check their children’s school bags daily because many also carry weapons, smoking devices, and other things not allowed at schools.

“Recently, we discovered seven to eight children aged 15 to 16 at an abandoned house in Ext 19. They had bunked school for a week. Men visited the house to take advantage of those children daily,” he added.

Somyo encouraged community members to inform the police if they see these acts or children at a certain point during school hours. He said bullying at schools has also increased, saying police often cannot open cases because the learners are minors.

“As law enforcement stakeholders, we want to engage with the education department and the court to formulate a way of dealing with these cases.

“House burglaries are increasing daily. We encourage community members to form group chats or to exchange numbers so each street can form what we call a neighbourhood watch,” he added.

He added that CPF members work collaboratively to combat crime by patrolling the community at night, in the morning and during the day.

“We are the eyes and ears of the community and report every suspicious activity to the police. We often visit hotspots to stop criminal activities and approach taverns to discourage them from selling alcohol to learners,” said Somyo.

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Other safety tips:
• Never take shortcuts, especially at night;
• Report unsafe conditions to the police;
• Do not use your phone or other devices when walking;
• When driving or parked, avoid displaying expensive jewellery, cameras, cellphones and other valuables;
• Do not carry large sums of money;
• Avoid dark, isolated areas;
• Lock the car doors and wind up the windows when driving;
• Lock valuable items in the boo before leaving;
• Never pick up strangers or hitchhikers;
• Look out for each other’s property and call your neighbour if you suspect something.

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