Mom dies in attack days before stats release

TWO days before the release of this year’s crime statistics, a young mother died after being shot in front of her husband and two children in an attempted robbery in Edenvale.

According to the police, Vanessa Dreyer was shot as two men blocked the family’s car as they reversed out of their driveway.

Shots were fired at the car and Dreyer’s husband retaliated. Dreyer died in hospital. A Facebook post indicated that the couple had been visiting Dreyer’s sister. The men got away. Police say they are searching for four men.

Suburbs were often easy targets. The incidence of robberies, burglars and murders meaning that residents lived in fear, said eBlockwatch founder Andre Snyman.

“We are still scared. Nothing much has changed. We are faced with the same old demons,” he said.

Snyman said that more often than not, the police’s reaction to a crime was incredibly weak.

The police did not have enough intelligence to curb violent crime, and private security companies were ineffectual.

“You pay them a fortune. But if a perpetrator walks into your house, that security company has failed you. Many of (their guards) will not chase after robbers. They will tell you it is not their mandate because their job is to protect your house.”

Snyman said many communities had resorted to using social media such as WhatsApp and Facebook to stay in touch with one another to try to keep up with crime trends in their area.

“Where I live, if a person looks suspicious on our streets, the groups in the network send out information and everyone is alerted, including security companies. This increases the response times for everyone.”

Snyman said community policing forums were also coming to the party to assist police in nabbing perpetrators.

“We encourage all communities to take a stand. (The battle to curb) crime cannot be won if we all depend on the police. We need to take action to protect our loved ones.”