Robberies in SA homes soar

L

Lightscribe

Banned
Joined
Sep 10, 2007
Messages
5,695
Reaction score
1
Location
...On the beach, Strand
Robberies in SA homes soar
May 15, 2010 10:23 PM | By SHANAAZ EGGINGTON

South Africans are under siege. House robberies have rocketed by nearly 100% in just five years.

The shocking increase in home robberies - where the victims are present, unlike during burglaries - across the country is laid bare in a new book, Home Invasion, by police detective-turned-academic, Professor Rudolph Zinn.

Zinn's research into the phenomenon has been used by police to implement new strategies to tackle the scourge.

Zinn, a senior lecturer at the School of Criminal Justice and Police Practice at the University of South Africa, is convinced house robbers are "the most callous of criminals".

"The brutal assault on baby Marzaan Kruger and her minder, Francina Sekhu, is a sad example of how violent these robberies are," he said.

Baby Marzaan, aged one, is still in critical condition after being pistol-whipped during an armed robbery at her home in Randburg, Johannesburg, on April 22.

One of her alleged attackers, Chakhoma Machaba, was a "trusted friend" of Sekhu.

Zinn's research revealed that eight out of 10 robberies were committed by criminals who had been fed information by people known to their victims.

Official police figures show there were 18438 residential robberies reported during 2008/9 - an increase of 97.2% since 2003/4, when the total was 9351.

The book is based on research Zinn did for a PhD which he obtained from Unisa in 2008 after conducting interviews with convicted house robbers in Gauteng jails.

He found that house robbers, on average, were in their 20s yet already experienced criminals who often had committed more than 100 crimes before being arrested.

"I was struck by how well prepared and organised these criminals are. They gather information on their intended target for days and weeks before they attack," Zinn said.

"They are prepared to watch a house or farm for a long time. In one instance they watched a particular house for four months before they struck," he said.

They also used torture techniques during robberies, such as burning victims with boiling water, melted plastic or hot irons and used rape, or the threat of rape, as a means of establishing where valuables were hidden.

And in many cases the robbers were not deterred by alarms, armed response or dogs.

The book also shatters myths about house robberies, for instance that criminals "mark" their targets by placing an object on the pavement or tying a ribbon to a fence.

"Cellphones have made these obsolete. Criminals take pictures and SMS directions," said Zinn.

After Zinn published his thesis, he made it available to the police, who in turn did a case docket analysis of 1000 residential robbery cases. Their findings concurred with Zinn's research.

"The police have implemented new policing initiatives. They have also created a new unit within crime intelligence that will deal with the debriefing of criminals behind bars," said Zinn.

"They have approached our department for help to train their researchers."

Zinn's book quotes a report by the Institute for Security Studies which says that only 12.5% of cases of robbery with aggravating circumstances end up on the desks of state prosecutors.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article451616.ece/Robberies-in-SA-homes-soar
Click to expand...

:whistle:
 
Like most people haven't been taking personal security seriously for the last 5 or 10 years already?

Do you have concrete methods of taking ones personal security seriously?
 
But crime is down 44% since 1994. How could this possibly be true? :eek: :p

I had the horrible experience of seeing my neighbour attacked by a bunch of savages recently. (yes, ass creepers, savages. they wanted to hack off his finger for his wedding ring. What kind of normal civilized person does this?)

Managed to scare them off but they beat the hell out of the poor guy.
 
People in general are lax and believe burgular bars or a cheap alarm system will protect them.

Most doors and windows are flimsy with cheap locks etc.

Does anybody screen their domestics to make sure that they are who they say they are?

People are creatures of habit ... Drive the same routes, leave at the same time etc. etc.

The list of preventative measures to ensure that your risk of harm is drastically reduced is quite extensive...

People spend more money on "entertainment" than they do on their security.

Send your wife and kids to self-defense classes
Learn to be aware of what happens around you.
 
Last edited:
I heard those "positive" ________ said we are crime free. They don't put even security bar on their houses. They said SA is safe. Many countries are dangerous, they have so many friends around the world experienced rape, robbery, mugged and even killed but none of these happened to him and people he knows in SA.

The research is fake, that is never in SA. You people are so "negative". Newspapers are negative, people are negative, tourists are negative........... SA is a so great country, bad images are not because of SA. It is because of your negative attitudes. Say things positive, do things positive, you will never feel unsafe in SA. IF you are always negative, please leave this country, they are so proud of SA ............ :D

The crime stats is down, we are most safer than during apartheid.......... :D

......

You know what? I am trying to quote what I heard previously and retype them out, I already feel sick .... :sick:

what an idiot..... ! :wtf:
 
Last edited:
Let's have a look at the mentality at work here:

Servants at the home: House cleaners & Gardeners & Child minders

- anybody concerned or serious about the safety of the family would not employ servants in their home

So, why do people continue to do so ?

- our cultural history
- because mom and grandma did
- because they don't have time
- because it's too much work
- because they'd rather have a show-off garden than do it themselves

How is that millions of ordinary working class families all over the world, get by without maids, yet work and raise their children, still cook meals, have clean homes and gardens ?

When your maid or gardeners life or the life of their family or children are threatened to provide information about their jobs, place of work, employers, there is nothing they can do about it,
they cannot tell you - the employer (fear of job loss) they cannot tell the police (they have been threatened).

This is one of the most critical threats to security in your home today, and if you don't have workers at your home, and your neighbours do, the threat is slightly less but still there.

In a country where the domestic worker comes from a shack to service your 'mansion', don't expect them to understand that you worked hard for everything you have, do you think that poor workers don't envy you, that secretly they want you to fail because of simple envy and perhaps political indoctrination and promises (remember people have been convinced that Europeans came to South Africa and stole what was rightfully theirs)

If you are serious about security, don't employ domestic staff. Simple.
 
I once went 2 weeks without a maid... I thought... huh I can do this... keep the place orderly and clean. Boy! was I wrong!
 
Madman88 said:
That sentence pretty much sums up your post.
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, pretty much... I really cannot understand DreamKing's posts, when asked, he said English was, his first language.. o_O
Anyways, this comes as no surprise, I don't think I've heard of as much house break-ins as I did 10 years ago
 
boramk said:
Oh yeah, pretty much... I really cannot understand DreamKing's posts, when asked, he said English was, his first language.. o_O
Anyways, this comes as no surprise, I don't think I've heard of as much house break-ins as I did 10 years ago
Click to expand...

boramk, you know I don't want to comment about people's language ability. Your english is good but not as good as you think. Don't justify the other person. What and how many degrees you have? English PhD? Don't make me laugh. :D

I am not a writer, I don't have a english degree. I am a scientist. Please don't write things make people feel you are irritating. You are just personal attack unnecessarily. BUT I AM FINE. :D

PS: You have to read my post before you quoted the other people's comments......... :D It showed you are just a / an __________. :D
 
Last edited:
Waiting for the positive people to come and explain why this is a good thing in South Africa.
 
Everything is fake! :D

The Electric fence - fake, Burglar bars - fake, car alarms/immobilisers - fake

Everything is is happy in the land of Nod! - the people who get robbed/rapes are just 'counter revolutionaries' (ad nauseum)

Unfortunately SA is in the middle of the Mandela rose tinted glasses view and cant come to terms with its problems. The Govt would rather spend the money on propaganda which I can see that quite a few forumites have bought in to - hook-line and sinker
 
Ricard said:
Everything is fake! :D

The Electric fence - fake, Burglar bars - fake, car alarms/immobilisers - fake

Everything is is happy in the land of Nod! - the people who get robbed/rapes are just 'counter revolutionaries' (ad nauseum)

Unfortunately SA is in the middle of the Mandela rose tinted glasses view and cant come to terms with its problems. The Govt would rather spend the money on propaganda which I can see that quite a few forumites have bought in to - hook-line and sinker
Click to expand...

Viva le properganda
 
DreamKing said:
boramk, you know I don't want to comment about people's language ability. Your english is good but not as good as you think. Don't justify the other person. What and how many degrees you have? English PhD? Don't make me laugh. :D

I am not a writer, I don't have a english degree. I am a scientist. Please don't write things make people feel you are irritating. You are just personal attack unnecessarily. BUT I AM FINE. :D

PS: You have to read my post before you quoted the other people's comments......... :D It showed you are just a / an __________. :D
Click to expand...

Sorry, you say you are a scientist and your English is as shocking as it is? How did you actually manage to get even a basic bachelors degree with language like you use?
You have difficulty stringing together a basic coherent English sentence, so I battle to understand how you would have managed even a basic bachelors degree, let alone become a "scientist" who would be required to publish papers where extensive use of the English language would be required to attempt to transfer an understanding of some very esoteric concepts.
 
ToxicBunny said:
Sorry, you say you are a scientist and your English is as shocking as it is? How did you actually manage to get even a basic bachelors degree with language like you use?
You have difficulty stringing together a basic coherent English sentence, so I battle to understand how you would have managed even a basic bachelors degree, let alone become a "scientist" who would be required to publish papers where extensive use of the English language would be required to attempt to transfer an understanding of some very esoteric concepts.
Click to expand...

my "boss" never asked me ...... do you want to ask for me? ... :D

but what is your point? Are you a PhD(eng) ? :D
 
ToxicBunny said:
Sorry, you say you are a scientist and your English is as shocking as it is? How did you actually manage to get even a basic bachelors degree with language like you use?
You have difficulty stringing together a basic coherent English sentence, so I battle to understand how you would have managed even a basic bachelors degree, let alone become a "scientist" who would be required to publish papers where extensive use of the English language would be required to attempt to transfer an understanding of some very esoteric concepts.
Click to expand...

Wasn't it Dreamking who told me he was 20 ?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X