Huge spike in East London burglaries
Non-residential premises targeted for cables and metal to sell as scrap
East London has been hammered by a 288% spike in burglaries at non-residential premises, placing the city at number two in SA.
This trend was flagged in the latest national crime stats released by police minister Bheki Cele on Wednesday afternoon.
Cele released figures for the period between July and September this year.
Authorities are blaming the illegal trade in scrap metal as the key contributing factor to the spike.
But the city has also featured at number three in robberies at non-residential premises, with 48 reported. Non-residential premises include business premises, state buildings and infrastructure.
The Daily Dispatch has been reporting on a surge in thefts and burglaries targeting public infrastructure and residential areas. They include looting of cables and theft of metal from public buildings.
The province’s head of department for transport & community safety, Vuyani Mapolisa, said the illegal trade in scrap metal was a big headache fh h i patch after the release of the stats, Mapolisa attributed the spike in this crime category in hiil h used for speakers.
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