A staggering 134 cases of cable theft and vandalism have taken place in Merafong since April. By monitoring the crime events reported on CPF WhatsApp groups in Carletonville, the DA has been able to build a database of cable theft incidents. Our database does not yet monitor other CPF groups in Merafong, so it is quite plausible that many more crimes have taken place.
The bigger problem is that in most instances, these criminal events are not reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) on their formal channels, and the municipality – as the owner of the infrastructure – does not make formal statements to the SAPS after these crimes.
Unfortunately, cable thieves have become so brazen that they target certain locations multiple times, perhaps knowing that they will not be arrested. The biggest game changer, however, are our residents of Merafong. They are showing us that activism starts in your own neighbourhood and that by each person doing their small part, we can disrupt these cable thieves.
Ina Cilliers, MPL DA constituency head, Merafong
READER LETTER | Residents help disrupt cable theft
Image: Supplied
A staggering 134 cases of cable theft and vandalism have taken place in Merafong since April. By monitoring the crime events reported on CPF WhatsApp groups in Carletonville, the DA has been able to build a database of cable theft incidents. Our database does not yet monitor other CPF groups in Merafong, so it is quite plausible that many more crimes have taken place.
The bigger problem is that in most instances, these criminal events are not reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS) on their formal channels, and the municipality – as the owner of the infrastructure – does not make formal statements to the SAPS after these crimes.
Unfortunately, cable thieves have become so brazen that they target certain locations multiple times, perhaps knowing that they will not be arrested. The biggest game changer, however, are our residents of Merafong. They are showing us that activism starts in your own neighbourhood and that by each person doing their small part, we can disrupt these cable thieves.
Ina Cilliers, MPL DA constituency head, Merafong
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