People get burgled and lose their possessions to thieves every day in South Africa. Indeed, the first action one takes (or should take) after a burglary is to contact the police as soon as possible.
People get burgled and lose their possessions to thieves every day in South Africa. Indeed, the first action one takes (or should take) after a burglary is to contact the police as soon as possible.
Some citizens are fortunate to have their property retrieved by the police but more often than not they forget to return to the station to enquire whether the stolen goods have been tracked down or not.
So what actually happens once your property has been retrieved? "Property that has been abandoned in police possession for about three months is forfeited by the government," said a police spokesperson from the communications office. These items may include perishable food, medicine and clothing which is forfeited by the government. Valuable items such as electric appliances, laptops and PCs, furniture and bicycles are auctioned off to the public. The public is informed about the auction through advertisements and the money raised is deposited into the government’s bank account. Property that is being used in connection with criminal cases is kept in the evidence room for the duration of the court proceedings.
Journalism lecturer Sim Kyazze lost his bicycle recently. "The thieves jumped over the fence at my flat and broke the chains off both my bicycles. Apparently, the guy took my neighbour’s bike to his house, and walked back to get mine." He was also called by the police to go and identify his bicycle. "I went to an evidence room with only bicycles, but so many of them! It was like the Tour de France in there," he said.
He added that he "was sad to see the terrified alleged thief at the station. He could not have been more than 18 years old and here I was with two bicycles I don’t even use every day, and there he was about to go to jail for taking them." He concluded that he does not condone theft but "kind of understands the social underpinnings of it".
Kyazze is one of the fortunate ones to get his bicycle back in time especially since he did not report it. He said, "When I went to collect my bicycle, I signed some paperwork, gave in a copy of my identity document and I was on my way." Police urge that anyone who has reported stolen property must continuously check at the police station if it has been retrieved. This may even be the case years afterwards. "It is difficult to link the possessions to their owners as most stuff is not marked," the police said.
