“Two members of the Hermanus Public Protection
(HPP) team reported seeing two women walking along a cliff pathway towards the
Rietfontein Bridge just after 10:00 on 25 January. They were reportedly
carrying a large and heavy bag with them,” says Marius Boshoff, Hermanus branch
manager for Fidelity ADT. HPP is a ratepayer funded initiative, in partnership
with Fidelity ADT.
Another HPP officer stopped the women and asked to
search the bag, which led to the discovery of a large quantity of tools and
building material items.
“The women were questioned and they claimed that an
unknown person in Zwelihle had asked that they collect the bag where it was
hidden in bushes. The manager of a nearby building site however later confirmed
that the items were his and that they had been stolen,” says Boshoff.
The women were taken into custody on a charge of
housebreaking and theft.
Meanwhile in other incidents, HPP camera operators
helped police and local security partners apprehend three suspects in
connection with the alleged flouting of curfew regulations.
“The CCTV operators noticed a group of men walking
from the New Harbour, early on 22 January at around 00:04 carrying small bags
with them. Operators alerted the Hermanus SAPS, the HPP specialized response
units along with members of the Hermanus Neighbourhood Watch,” explains
Boshoff.
“When the group saw the approaching responding
teams, they scattered and fled, but three of the suspects were successfully
detained. They were taken to the police station and issued with fines for
contravening disaster management regulations.”
In a separate incident, CCTV operators also helped
in the recovery of suspected stolen goods in North Cliff.
“Operators dispatched the HPP specialized response
unit when they noticed three men pushing a trolley along Disa Street early on
21 January. The group was stopped, and the trolley was searched, which led to
the discovery of two large wooden poles which still appeared to be in a good
condition,” says Boshoff.
The suspects showed the officer where they had
allegedly found the poles, but a neighbour disagreed with their explanation and
assured the officer that their explanation was not plausible.
“Our officer instructed the suspects to put the
poles back where they found them, and then escorted the men out of the area. No
formal charge was laid against them,” says Boshoff.
. Members from the Hermanus Public Protection (HPP)
team managed to apprehend four suspects in two separate incidents.
The first incident, on 2 February, saw two suspects
being nabbed after they allegedly stole clothing from a local store.
“HPP Specialised Response Unit officer Bantu
Gqibilizwe received an alert from one of his colleagues, describing how two
suspects had reportedly stolen a piece of clothing from a shop on Mitchell
Street, before fleeing towards East Cliff. Officer Gqibilizwe used the information
he was provided to quickly track down the suspects and apprehend them,” says
Fidelity ADT’s branch manager for Hermanus, Marius Boshoff.
They were taken back to the shop, where the store
manager positively identified the suspects as well as the stolen piece of
clothing.
In a second incident that same day, the Hermanus
control room received a call from Fidelity ADT Area Manager, Donovan van der
Westhuizen at approximately 10:00 reporting that a member of the community saw
two suspects fleeing with a stolen laptop and cables in North Cliff and that he
needed assistance and back up from the HPP and Fidelity ADT team.
“Donovan was off duty at the time but still managed
to pick up the incident and respond. He is someone who always goes the extra
mile for our customers and is passionate about keeping Hermanus safe. Donovan
has been involved in several incidents over the years where he has assisted
residents in need or caught criminals in the act,” explained Boshoff.
The HPP CCTV camera operators started tracking the
movements of the two suspects while sharing this information with the
responding officers as well as Hermanus Neighbourhood watch responders. It was
at that time that a confirmation was received that a home in the area had
earlier been burgled.
“Donovan and his Fidelity ADT and HPP colleagues
used this information to pursue and soon apprehend both suspects, despite the
fact that the two had split up and fled in different directions. Both were
handed over into the custody of Hermanus SAPS.
“Well done to everyone involved in this week’s
successful arrests. It shows again how modern technology together with
committed and dedicated personnel can form a winning team in the fight against
crime,” says Boshoff.
Hermanus Public Protection (HPP) is a non-profit
company (NPC), established to provide public safety and top-up cleansing
services in the geographical designated area of Hermanus. It is funded by the
ratepayers through the Overstrand Municipality Special Rating Area By-law and
Policy.
