Efforts being made to curb car theft, say cops
AFINGER- POINTING game is in progress between Durban surfers and the police, with each side blaming the other for the high rate of car thefts at the beaches.
Surfers have become soft targets for criminals who steal their cars while they surf at the central beachfront and at North Beach, in particular.
Surfers have accused officers of the beachfront police station of being “deadbeat”, while the police claim that car thefts are escalating as a result of surfers’ negligence.
Grant Gilmour, a Durbanbased surfer who has had two cars stolen from the parking lot near the beachfront, said: “If cops were always visible in the area, car theft would not increase at the rate it is right now.
“Cops must play their role protecting citizens and bringing the perpetrators to book,” he said.
Another surfer, Barry Pottow, said the police were not doing enough to curb the growing scourge.
“I don’t feel comfortable coming to the beach to surf any more. Ironically we have a police station right here next to the beach but our cars get stolen every day,” he said.
The central Durban beachfront has become a hotbed for car theft, according to Colonel Jay Naicker, KZN police spokesman.
Naicker said cars were stolen because of negligence on the part of surfers. An average of 10 vehicles a month were stolen, most of them belonging to surfers, he said.
“We appeal to surfers to be vigilant at all times. Cops are always visible in the area but cars get stolen because surfers hide their keys where criminals can easily find them.”
Naicker cautioned surfers against hiding their keys in exhaust pipes, underneath cars and beneath wheel rims.
However, said Naicker, plans had been made to foil the thieves.
“Most of the cars are stolen while the surfers are in the sea and by the time they come out of the water, the car might be in the far north or south of the province,” said Naicker.
In an attempt to put a stop to the spike in vehicle theft the community policing forum, chaired by Henry Naidoo, has introduced a central point where surfers are able to leave their car keys while they surf.
Naidoo said: “We are fighting to restore the image of our beaches because we want them to remain tourist attractions.”
However, he said their initiative was not bearing fruit because they had no funding. “We ensure that the beaches are a safe place to be, but no one is willing to fund or give any form of assistance to us.”
A young surfer, Antony Clementz, said his father always hid his keys inside the exhaust pipe.
“I will tell my dad to find alternative places where he could leave his keys,” said a stunned Clementz.