Spike in theft of gate motors

Shops and restaurants are being plundered by robbers in the Eastern Cape.

There were more robberies of convenience stores in this province than any other in SA, the latest crime statistics show.

Of late there has been a spike in theft of gate motors in the East London suburbs, said Mdantsane police spokesman Nkosikho Mzuku on Tuesday.

Police minister Bheki Cele’s statistics released on Tuesday show 936 Eastern Cape spaza shops were robbed in 2017-18.

The figure is the second highest in the country behind Limpopo where 1,142 spaza shops were robbed, followed by the Western Cape (799) and North West province (748).

Spaza shops fall in the category of robberies at non-residential areas, which include churches, schools, street vendors and liquor stores.

There were 279 convenience stores robbed in the province – 79 more than Gauteng’s 200 cases while 180 were pillaged in the Western Cape.

There were 171 liquor outlets robbed in the province, the second highest number after Gauteng (190). The Western Cape had 98 liquor store robberies and Mpumalanga 94.

The province also recorded the third highest number of fast food outlets and restaurants robbed in the country at 45.

KwaZulu-Natal was the worst with 86 eatery robberies followed by the Western Cape with 70. The overall figure of robberies at non-residential areas for this year was 2,395, up from 2,369 last year.

Despite a spate of robberies at residential premises across the province in the past year, police statistics paint a different picture. Residential robberies were up by only 0,6% – 13 more – to total 2,184.

However, the numbers show a steady increase over three consecutive years. Looking back over the past 10 years, the numbers fluctuate between 1,517 in 2008-09 and 1,811 in 2014-15.

They reach the 2,000 mark for the first time in 2015-16 and have risen every year since.

On Tuesday police appealed to communities for help against rampant gate motor thefts in East London suburbs. Mzuku said police had noted with concern the spike in theft of gate motors in parts of Cambridge policing precinct, especially Selborne, Nahoon, Stirling, Berea and Cambridge.

Mzuku called on crime fighting stakeholders, including private security companies, neighbourhood watches and community police forums, to help.

“We have intensified our patrols. We appeal to the public not to buy these stolen goods.”

Mzuku said second-hand goods dealers should remember that non-compliance with the law was punishable.