It’s not safe here – Grocott's Mail

Crime is out of control in Grahamstown. We receive firsthand accounts on a daily basis of people who have been mugged; citizens who have been beaten up; vehicles are stolen; car windows are smashed; burglar bars are loosened in the night; a girl is abducted on her way to university and houses are routinely burgled. Crime is rampant.

It is not surprising that criminals now rule Grahamstown. As we look out our newsroom window onto Church Square we see raging mobs running up and down the street breaking public property, lighting fires and terrorising law abiding citizens. This is done in full view of the Grahamstown police who calmly stand by and do nothing. Criminals know they can act with impunity.

We received a phone call from a reader this week who said he can no longer come into Grocott’s Mail<\ital> because he has been mugged on the pavement too often. How often is too often? He knows where the muggers are – they line up in front of the illegal traders on Church Square – everyone in Grahamstown knows that gangs of muggers and pickpockets congregate at various points on Church Square throughout the day. We presume the cops know this too and that is why they have been avoiding the area.

We regularly receive ‘News in Brief’ crime reports from the Grahamstown police station. We always hope that this report will give our readers an idea of how much crime is being committed in this area. It does no such thing. It only supplies our readership with news about a tiny fraction of the crimes that actually take place. This is irresponsible because it paints a false picture of Grahamstown as being a relatively safe, law-abiding town – it’s not.

If the police supplied accurate information about the true extent of crime in Makana, then residents would take extra precautions to protect themselves.

It’s high time the Makana police set about fighting crime.