Security in East London’s residential areas is being compromised and crime has increased since load-shedding resumed after problems at Eskom meant the parastatal could not generate enough power to meet the country's needs.
Beacon Bay, Vincent, Selbourne, Cambridge, Amalinda, Nahoon, Bonniedoon, Braelyn and Southernwood are just some of the areas where residents, community policing bodies and at least one security company have noticed a sharp increase in crime.
The Beacon Bay Community Patrol Association said many traditional alarm systems had started failing because the batteries were not designed to sustain continual discharging and recharging.
The association said this, and the cover of darkness, worked in criminals’ favour.
Its deputy patrol co-ordinator, Anthony Verwey, said one type of crime that had escalated markedly was the theft of copper, fittings and other removable items from homes and businesses.
“On Sunday evening at 10pm we had a household’s outside tap ripped out of the ground, as could be seen on CCTV footage afterwards.
“About midnight that same evening, CPA patrollers stopped two other suspects and found many tools and stolen items on them.
“Pliers, multiple knives, screwdrivers, a wheel spanner, light fitting and rolls of copper wire were found in their possession,” Verwey said.
Red Alert security has also observed an increase in crime since the start of the load-shedding.
Its Eastern Cape regional manager, Brett Harvey, said criminals took advantage of the darkness to conceal themselves.
“Our entire metro is unfortunately hit hard by crime, but areas worst affected from our point of view are Beacon Bay, Vincent, Selbourne, Cambridge, Amalinda, Nahoon, Bonniedoon, Braelyn and Southernwood.
“We deal with criminal activities every day, from housebreaking to municipal property theft, mainly being electricity cables.
“Every neighbourhood is plagued with the same crimes on a daily basis so there are no set days,” Harvey said.
He said household security during load-shedding was a problem because alarm systems were affected in the absence of devices that countered the effects of power outages.
Outages could also affect electric gate motors if a proper battery was not installed or if the battery had been damaged from frequent power outages.
“In the past two days, we have responded to many burglaries in households and businesses.
“Cable and water meter theft has been plaguing our city, but luckily we have effected some successful arrests.
“People with alarm systems must have an external power source to aid their alarm system.
“Try to keep your home well lit with off-grid enabled devices such as solar-or battery-powered lights as it does deter would be criminals,” he said.
Sunnyridge community policing forum spokesperson Tembekile Tyatyantsi agreed with Harvey, saying community members had been reporting a range of crimes since the outages started.
“The latest crime happened two nights ago, where four car tyres were stolen during load-shedding overnight.
“Residents are on the alert as house burglaries are also common.
“A recent incident of house burglary happened in Rosemont last week,” said Tyatyantsi.
He said a few community members were volunteering to patrol their areas by day or night.
“The task was made easier by response units from security companies who participate in the patrols as part of our CPF patrollers group.”
“Some households are single-female headed homes and they have been victims of burglary during load-shedding, having been robbed at gunpoint during the day and at night,” he said.
The situation was worse in informal settlements because of the proximity of the shacks to one another.
Duncan Village Crime Forum founder Ludumo Salman said the outages compromised residents’ safety.
“Cases of housebreakings and muggings have increased. These thugs capitalise on these blackouts.
“In the early hours of this morning [Thursday] the door of a young woman’s shack was kicked in and her cellphone was taken by a man [wearing] camouflage.
Fynbos resident Gavin Bengani said churches and spaza shops were being targeted in the area.
“They steal driveway gates, copper fittings, thermostats, water pipes, car batteries and tyres.
“Crime has been there but we see a difference for the worse since load-shedding,” Bengani said.
Eastern Cape provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said it was not easy to discern an accurate correlation between normal crime incidents and crimes committed during load-shedding.
“Yes, we are seeing a pattern which could suggest an increase in housebreakings and copper cable thefts in some areas, including Vincent, Nahoon and Berea recently.
“However, it can’t be said with certainty that it is caused by load-shedding.
“In all Mdantsane stations, Berlin (Ntabozuko) and Macleantown, there is no noticeable difference in reported crimes regarding the load-shedding.
“This analysis or assessment does not necessarily reflect or represent the whole district,” Kinana said.
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