Crime is not an uncommon occurrence in Stellenbosch and has been adding to the parking woes of its residents. Crimes related to vehicles are a reality that most of the town’s residents are all too familiar with.
In 2018, there was an overall decline in thefts out of or from motor vehicles in Cape Town, according to the SAPS crime statistics of 2017/2018. This same trend was seen in Stellenbosch.
However, despite the decline, Stellenbosch has been rated as second on the top 10 worst precincts in 2018 when it comes to theft related to motor vehicles.
The communications officer of the Stellenbosch SAPS, Captain Natalie Martin, says that there has been no increase for 2019 so far but it is “still high influx”.
After a significant spike in motor vehicle related theft in Stellenbosch in 2016, the number of reported thefts has decreased slightly. INFOGRAPHIC: Elri Voigt
Recently, there have been several incidents of motor vehicles being broken into while being parked on secure parking.
One of these incidents involved the underground parking at Eikestad Mall. Alicia Jooste, described her experience on the Eikestad Mall’s Facebook page.
When Eikestad Mall was asked whether they had received any complaints about break-ins in one of their parking lots, they stated that they had nothing to report on the matter.
The Eikestad Mall received a complaint on its Facebook page from Alicia Jooste, who stated that her car had been broken into while it was parked in the Mall’s underground parking lot. SOURCE: Facebook
Martin mentions that “parking around the Eikestad Mall, public parking and parking at flats”, have been some of the areas that are targeted more in Stellenbosch.
Students and locals tend to park wherever they can find a spot in Stellenbosch which is notoriously lacking in adequate parking spots. This will sometimes lead to them choosing a very public space to park their car and rely on car guards. PHOTO: Lia Snijman.
Eastlynne, a private residence, also experienced a break-in on the 28th of July.
The victim was Ruan Goosen, a fashion design student at Elizabeth Galloway fashion academy.
Goosen’s Polo Vivo was broken into in the evening. The door was jammed open while being parked on the Eastlynne premises. This particular car had been broken into several times in the past five years that Goosen has been studying in Stellenbosch.
“There was nothing in my car to even steal. They stole a bunch of scissors and my X-Acto knives,” says Goosen.
Sunday evening is also not the first time that Goosen’s car has been broken into while parked on the Eastlynne premises.
“This is the second time that this has happened,” Goosen reports.
The theft of Goosen’s cutting implements is not the first set of random items that have been stolen from motor vehicles in Stellenbosch’s street this year. Recently, there has been a spree of windshield wiper and wheel cap thefts.
During the last few months, there has also been an increase in car break-ins in Paradyskloof according to Jac Pietersen, a resident of this Stellenbosch suburb.
The window of a car has been temporarily fixed after being smashed outside a house in Paradyskloof. PHOTO: Lia Snijman.
Pietersen explains that this increase took place at the same time that some well-known criminals were freed from jail.
He admits that this makes him feel “pretty powerless”. He adds that it is very hard to catch people at night. Pietersen knows this because he is part of a group that patrols and sits watch from time to time in his neighbourhood.
He appreciates the private security companies that work in his neighbourhood and says that they help with visibility, react to alarms and “sometimes catch people”.
“They are not very effective when it comes to break-ins that happen by foot,” Pietersen states.
Pietersen laments that Stellenbosch has a big crime problem and that the serious crimes thus get prioritised over the less serious crimes, such as vehicle break-ins.
“The police try to help out but manpower is a big problem and break-ins are at the bottom of the list when it comes to cases that need to be investigated,” Pietersen explains.
Pietersen is not alone in his worries. On 29 July the residents from Longifolia street, a street within Paradyskloof, gathered to discuss how to better their security as a street community.
Everything was discussed from electric fences and cameras, to guards and better lighting. Their main deterrents for using these measures have been money, municipal rules and, in the case of residents who have been living there for long, not wanting to excessively prune their trees to make way for fences.
During the meeting it was mentioned that the times when most break-ins happen are between 22h00 and 3h00, usually by men on foot, and especially when it’s windy or rainy.
This correlates with what Martin has to say about when most car break-ins happen, namely that the peak times are at night and when it’s raining.
She explains that the police works with private security companies and do “stop and search operations” to try and keep car break-ins to a minimum. Martin advises people to not leave valuable items unattended in their cars.
-Elri Voigt, Lia Snijman