No arrest yet as theft out of vehicle cases rise
The thief that broke into the vehicle of journalist Lucas Ledwaba on February 29 and stole his work equipment, has still not been found.
The police confirmed in a text message to Ledwaba earlier this month that the case had been closed after all leads were followed and that the docket would be re-opened if new leads arise.
On the day of the incident, Ledwaba was in a store in Excelsior Street for roughly 10 minutes after fulfilling duties during the annual State of The Province Address at the Jack Botes Hall prior.
His backpack, which was inside the vehicle, contained a notebook laptop, an external hard drive, a cellphone, card reader, a memory card, notebooks and house keys. Another bag contained documents.
Upon his return from the store, he found that the vehicle’s door lock had been tampered with and the bags were gone.
“I immediately went back into the store to request CCTV footage as there were cameras. The CCTV footage in the store has the perpetrator on camera, but the image is not that clear. With the help of some taxi marshals, we questioned some of the loiterers and showed them the footage, but they did not seem to know the perpetrator.”
Ledwaba opened a case of theft and malicious damage to property, the police confirmed.
The chairperson of the city’s community forum, Rudolph Phaswana said it would be difficult to identify the perpetrator given how busy the area is, but that they would work closely with Ledwaba and the police to trace the suspect.
In several requests for comment from Ledwaba, he expressed the hope that the police would help him find the perpetrator.
National crime statistics for October to December last year showed that the city was a breeding ground for thieves who steal out of vehicles, with 257 reported cases in this period. This translates to almost three incidents per day.
Polokwane was placed in the top spot provincially and seventh nationwide in this crime category, with the local station seeing an increase of 80 cases year-on-year.
Vehicle theft has also seen an increase in recent times, Phaswana confirmed, with four
vehicles stolen in the CBD towards the end of February, and another three two weeks later.
While the forum had flagged the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital entrance as a hotspot based on the increasing case numbers in the area, Excelsior Street has
also proven problematic.
“Exercise caution when approached by individuals offering car wash services in parking areas, and consider using reputable and established car wash facilities with proper infrastructure and security measures,” the forum warned in a statement.