Cable theft task team arrest 28 thieves in 9 months - three convicted

Jan

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Shocking cable theft arrest and conviction statistics in South Africa

A multidisciplinary task team established to fight cable theft has arrested 28 thieves since its inception, and only three have been sentenced to jail time.

"Two accused were found guilty and both sentenced to three years imprisonment, on the first count and one year on the second count," police minister Bheki Cele wrote in response to questions from the National Assembly.
 
Thausands of Kilometers of cable gets stolen Everyday. and we manage to catch 28?????
 
The biggest problem besides company employees stealing batteries or copper cable is that Joe Soap on the street suspects nothing when the theft is happening in broad daylight.

Good example would be cell phone battery theft. Network operators always drive with unmarked bakkies of different brands and so does the criminals. How would someone know if that person belongs at that base station or not?
 
Louis72 said:
The biggest problem besides company employees stealing batteries or copper cable is that Joe Soap on the street suspects nothing when the theft is happening in broad daylight.

Good example would be cell phone battery theft. Network operators always drive with unmarked bakkies of different brands and so does the criminals. How would someone know if that person belongs at that base station or not?
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I'd say the biggest problem besides the people sealing the copper is the people buying the copper. Scrap metal dealers are part of the problem because they also break the law to make a profit from the stolen copper.

A contractor had some metal stands stolen while doing work for us. He went to the local scrap dealer to see if he could pick up some scrap ones so he could complete the job. Ended up seeing his stands sitting on the floor behind the counter. Told the dealer they were his, and asked to see the ID of the person who they bought them from. They said they didn't have it because he is such a regular customer they didn't bother.
 
SilverCode said:
I'd say the biggest problem besides the people sealing the copper is the people buying the copper. Scrap metal dealers are part of the problem because they also break the law to make a profit from the stolen copper.

A contractor had some metal stands stolen while doing work for us. He went to the local scrap dealer to see if he could pick up some scrap ones so he could complete the job. Ended up seeing his stands sitting on the floor behind the counter. Told the dealer they were his, and asked to see the ID of the person who they bought them from. They said they didn't have it because he is such a regular customer they didn't bother.
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Reminds me of "chor bazaar" in mumbai, translation is "thief market". In olden times u cannot park ur vehicle there or it would be stripped and sold of in front of ur eyes.
 
He said another had been found guilty, sentenced to 12 years of direct imprisonment and declared unfit to possess a firearm.
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Wow a criminal has been found unfit to possess a firearm.

Is that just whilst in prison, does the criminal get to demonically possess a firearm after being released from prison?

Did Ramaphosa specifically choose allies for his cabinet that are certified morons?
 
WTF
Bheki-Cele-800-x-533.jpg

Does he even know what a prize prick he looks like wearing that hat?
 
qscwbt said:
Slow down there task team dont over do it.

Seriously you should be arresting 28 people a day
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Agreed, and those 28 arrests per day need to be quality arrests, otherwise its completely meaningless. A conviction rate that is barely over 10 percent suggests that this so called "multi-disciplinary task team" is composed of a bunch of colorful morons without any relevant expertise whatsoever.
It's great when you can use other peoples' money to pay out all of those that sue the SAPS for false arrest. Make these task team members personally liable for the payouts, then it may attract competent people who know what they are doing, what to look for, how to investigate, and how to properly present evidence in court.
 
There is TOO much money in scrap copper. Too many people are getting paid, high ranked police as well.

If the government WANTED to do something, they could just ban ALL 2nd hand copper trade.

The scrapyards DRIVE this illegal trade.
 
MightyQuin said:
There is TOO much money in scrap copper. Too many people are getting paid, high ranked police as well.

If the government WANTED to do something, they could just ban ALL 2nd hand copper trade.

The scrapyards DRIVE this illegal trade.
Click to expand...

True, have you ever noticed how many cash for scrap shops is around. Drove through Germiston and about every 500m you get a cash for scrap. How hard can it be to catch these criminals or shops buying illegal stolen equipment.
 
MightyQuin said:
There is TOO much money in scrap copper. Too many people are getting paid, high ranked police as well.

If the government WANTED to do something, they could just ban ALL 2nd hand copper trade.

The scrapyards DRIVE this illegal trade.
Click to expand...

As long as we have people, who buy stolen goods, we will have crime ...
 
MightyQuin said:
There is TOO much money in scrap copper. Too many people are getting paid, high ranked police as well.

If the government WANTED to do something, they could just ban ALL 2nd hand copper trade.

The scrapyards DRIVE this illegal trade.
Click to expand...

It is very much as simple as that...

Nail the entities that are buying the stuff and very shortly there will be no more market for 2nd hand copper and the cable theft problem will reduce significantly.
 
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