Thieves lift Mount Road detectives’ laptops
Brazen thieves have swiped two laptops from the detective branch offices on the sixth floor of the Mount Road police station in Glendinningvale.
An audit is now being carried out to establish whether any current investigation dockets were also lifted.
The laptops have several passwords restricting access to the police network.
Police top brass said it was unclear whether it was an opportunistic crime or to gain specific information.
The theft was discovered at 6am on Monday by a detective, who found the office door open when he arrived at work.
A police source said it appeared the locked door had been forced open with a sharp implement such as a screwdriver.
“Two police-issue laptops were stolen and it is still unknown if dockets were taken.”
The eight-storey building has a 24-hour community service centre – situated at the front of the station – as well as barracks.
It also houses the forensic unit and cluster office, which oversees seven police stations in Nelson Mandela Bay.
The provincial organised crime unit is next door.
The sixth floor has a security gate which must be opened to access the offices, but insiders claim the gate was unlocked, giving the culprits unhindered access to the floor.
In 2017, a lift at the station plummeted four storeys after 14 counterweights of 70kg each were stolen.
Earlier in 2019, we reported on door handles and fittings being stolen from the barracks, where the gang unit offices are also based.
It was still unclear on Monday afternoon whether any pending investigations or evidence were stored on the hard drive of the missing computers.
The source said what was more worrying was that information could have been taken from criminal dockets, such as the addresses of witnesses or complainants, forensic reports and statements.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Liziwe Ntshinga said: “I have directed the cluster to mobilise all resources to track down the [thieves] and bring them to book.”
A case of burglary is being investigated.