"Two men wearing balaclavas and armed with knives held my two digsmates up in Oatlands North Municipal Park," said a shocked Daniel Danckwerts who has recently moved to the area.
Second year student Danckwerts and his digsmates moved into a house near Oatlands North municipal park at the beginning of 2010.
"Two men wearing balaclavas and armed with knives held my two digsmates up in Oatlands North Municipal Park," said a shocked Daniel Danckwerts who has recently moved to the area.
Second year student Danckwerts and his digsmates moved into a house near Oatlands North municipal park at the beginning of 2010.
Although Hi-Tec Security secures the property, the nearby park remains unlit and unsafe for those who wish to cross it on their way home.
Danckwerts explains that at 2am when his two female digsmates were returning home from a night out they were approached by two men carrying a knife.
One of the men tackled one of the women in Henry Street and eventually ran off with her handbag. "Although we phoned Hi-Tec who responded to the matter straight away, police have also been very good and have been patrolling the park and conducting visible policing at night," said Danckwerts.
Student Representative Council’s Oppidan Councillor, Hassan Randaree says: "Students living in digs should walk in groups, stick with friends, don’t try to take short cuts and try and keep valuables like cellphones away when they are walking so they can be fully observant to their surroundings."
Randaree says that students wanting to safeguard themselves against crime can buy pepper spray from the SRC offices at the Student Union.
Third year Rhodes University students reported that in his master’s thesis Nicholas Davenport looked at the use of common land in Grahamstown.
He found that crime inhibits our involvement in the environment, preventing us from claiming parks and commons as part of communities therefore often letting them become more neglected and crime ridden.
"I would like to remind the community that although Hi-Tec and the police do work together it is still important for people to contact the police directly so that the police’s figures and Hi-Tec’s figures show matching results," said Captain Milanda Coetzer of the local SAPS.
