The CPF would like to thank the public for sharing with visitors the need to be vigilant on their visit to our town. This was evident in the low rate of criminal incidents that have taken place recently. Our thanks also goes out to SAPS and Multi Security for their increased patrolling of crime hotspots.
Recently SAPS, through Warrant Officer Sindy Pienaar, organised another presentation on fraud and scams at Word of Truth ministries. Unfortunately this event was poorly attended and that’s concerning, considering how many people in Port Alfred have been affected by such scams. Only last week a local citizen was scammed out of a substantial amount of money when they were tricked into providing crucial details by a scammer who told them there was a payout due to them by a banking institution.
A senior SAPS member attending the meeting said, “Just as we think we have worked out a scammer’s modus operandi, they come up with a new strategy. We have top people working around the clock trying to sort out this plague.”
In summary, the most important advice from the Port Alfred CPF is ‘just switch off’.
- If you receive a call and you are suspicious about the caller, switch off the call;
- If you receive any message on WhatsApp, email or via SMS, and you’re uncertain of its origin, delete it;
- Watch out for people purporting to sell you insurance cover;
- Watch out for people who tell you they have a lump sum payout on an insurance policy made out to you;
- Don’t allow someone to stand close to you at an ATM and don’t allow your attention to be drawn away from the screen.
Congratulations to East Bank citizens who have installed activated CCTV cameras in their streets and who monitor the coming and going of all people there. We believe that this is helping to bring down the crime in their areas. It would be great if more streets could club together to have cameras installed. An example is Kleinemonde where virtually all the streets have cameras. Well done.
At the next Business Forum meeting the new car guard system will be announced and implemented. Businesses in five streets in the central business area have been earmarked and have come on board by paying into the new car guard dispensation.
We repeat our appeal not to give food directly to vagrants, but rather to refer them to a local soup kitchen. Then you can support that charity.
Recently, well-meaning people have given children and adults food only to be told that this is not enough. If you rebuff them they become aggressive and abusive. If you’re confronted by people demanding money or food from you, call the nearest security officer and ask them to assist.
We would like to thank the magistrate and prosecutors for handing down harsher sentences. This could also be a deterrent in bringing down crime in our town, because the criminals now know that they are going to jail: no mere overnight stays.
Crime is everyone’s problem: it affects us all. You may think that jumping a robot is petty – but small things can get too big to control: just ask an addict.
Before we know it, the end of the year will be upon us. Don’t wake up too late: speak to your security provider and get your security systems in place early. Let’s get criminals out of our town. This we can only do if we all work together.
- This article was first published in Talk of the Town, September 26, 2024. The newspaper serving the communities of Ndlambe and the Sunshine Coast, with a weekly wrap of Makhanda news, is available at stores from early on Thursdays.
