BLUE ALERT FOR ALL AREAS FOR WEEK ENDING 28 OCTOBER 2010

Perhaps you’re wondering, “Why do we need to know about crimes occurring in our area?” and “what’s up with this weekly Blue Alert every week?” Well, we have the answers to those very questions.

Blue Security has vast knowledge of criminal modus operandi and over the years we’ve found that most criminals use similar tactics when committing crime. A great way to avoid crime is to learn from the experiences of others and take appropriate precautions before it happens to you. This is where the Blue Alert comes in, our objective is to educate you so that you can make informed decisions. 

So listen up people, if you give us your undivided attention for the next few minutes we guarantee that you will learn something that will help you prevent a crime.

Effingham Heights, Ramchand Road. Armed Robbery - Residential (25 October 2010, 20:53)
Three armed black male suspects forced open the front driveway gate and entered the property. Resident was inside the premises with her daughter and another student when suspects gained entry through the unlocked front door. Suspects held victims up at gunpoint and demanded their cash, cellphones and jewellery.

It’s a shame that those who’ve suffered a crime due to unlocked doors and windows had to learn such a harsh lesson the way they did. If you do not have an early detection systems in place (dogs / beams / trained parakeets), then leaving a door unlocked (even for ‘a second’) is a bad idea. 
     
Gillitts, Blue Gum Crescent. Gatecrashing - Residential (23 October 2010, 13:23)
Suspects forced open main driveway gate and gained entry by forcing open gate and door. Suspects forced open security gate leading to the bedroom area. A laptop, 2 plasma TV, jewellery, passports and ID documents were stolen.
   
Gillitts, Barbet Avenue. Gatecrashing - Residential (23 October 2010, 16:57)
Front driveway gates were derailed. Entry gained by forcing open front door and gate. Jewellery and clothing was stolen.
    
Cowies Hill, Kloof View Road. Gatecrashing - Residential (25 October 2010, 09:49)
Driveway gates were derailed and entry gained by forcing open front glass sliding door. A computer monitor was stolen.

For maximum security, your exterior doors should be windowless and you should not have windows close enough to the door so that a thief could break the window and unlock the door from the inside. Unfortunately builders are not security experts, so if you do have sliding glass doors, glass door panels or nearby windows, cover the glass with a security grate, an unbreakable polycarbonate panel secured behind the glass on the inside or anti smash and grab film.

The best way to secure sliding doors is to install keyed locks at the top and bottom. You can also make or purchase a bar that swings down from the door frame to the middle of the door to prevent the door from sliding. At the very least, place a rod (a thick wooden dowel, for example) in the bottom track of the door to keep it from being opened.
   
Winston Park, Van Riebeeck Road. Housebreaking - Residential (23 October 2010, 03:42)
Suspects gained entry via bedroom window. A laptop was stolen.
    
Cowies Hill, Springside Avenue. Housebreaking - Residential (23 October 2010, 15:27)
Suspects broke padlock on the rear gate and gained entry by forcing open study door. Jewellery was stolen.
    
Durban North, Kensington Drive. Housebreaking - Residential (23 October 2010, 21:05)
Suspects broke down the back door with a boulder. Two laptops and jewellery was stolen.
    
Forest Hills, Central Avenue. Housebreaking - Residential (24 October 2010, 13:12)
Entry gained by forcing open front double doors. A laptop, Playstation, home theatre system and CDs were stolen.

Highland Hill, Seaforth Road. Housebreaking - Residential (24 October 2010, 21:53)
Suspects broke 2 slabs of pre-cast fencing and entered property. Suspects gained entry by kicking open bottom half of stable door. A plasma TV, microwave, DVD player, surround sound system, and foodstuff from fridges was stolen.
       
Queensburgh, Main Road. Housebreaking - Business (23 October 2010, 07:07)
Suspects entered via unlocked exterior gate and climbed onto an old metal air conditioner duct pipe which was lying outside. Entry gained via unsecured toilet window which did not have a glass in place due to renovations. Coats, overalls, tracksuits, boots and shoes were stolen. Suspects also tried to force open office door but were unable to gain entry.

Sounds like a well designed computer game…with all the puzzles pieces fitting together nicely
  
Durban Central, West Street. Housebreaking - Business (24 October 2010, 08:00)
Suspects used a length of wire to fish a toy laptop, dresses and shoes from a broken window.
   
Umhlanga, Wager Avenue. Housebreaking - Business (25 October 2010, 04:31)
Suspects jumped over the wall of the premises and removed the rubber and glass from the kitchen window. An electric kettle, laptop, Playstation, handbag, snackwich machine, torch and 2 diabetes sugar machines were stolen. A laptop, kettle and torch were later recovered outside the premises.

Sunningdale, Sunningdale Centre. Housebreaking - Business (25 October 2010, 04:46)
Suspects gained entry by forcing open front door. A plasma TV, till and alcohol was stolen.
    
Riverhorse Valley, Island Circle. Housebreaking - Business (25 October 2010, 07:07)
Entry gained by forcing open security gate and kicking down the front door. An unknown number of computers was stolen.
    
Hillcrest, Builders Way. Housebreaking - Business (25 October 2010, 08:31)
Entry gained via back kitchen window. Area was not protected by an alarm. Suspects stole a pair of shoes and tools. Suspects closed the same window and bent the burglar bars back in place when they exited the premises.

Awww! How sweet of them to leave things how they found them…oh, except of course for the missing items.
    
New Germany, Shepstone Road. Housebreaking – Business (25 October 2010, 12:26)
Entry gained via open window. Resident is presently moving out of the building also there is no power due to power cables being stolen. Five taps, a geyser and a shelf was stolen.

“LESSON #437 : HOUSEBREAKING FOR DUMMIES”: When there is nothing left to steal…steal the fixtures!
   
Morningside, Adrian Road. Theft (23 October 2010, 11:59)
Resident was working with his laptop inside the premises. Resident stepped outside to fetch cigarettes from his vehicle and on his return; he found his laptop had been stolen. There was no forced entry as the resident left the front door open at the time.

Doem - doem - doem…another one bites the dust.
    
Glenwood, Davenport Road. Theft (25 October 2010, 07:29)
Copper piping was stolen.
    
Crestholme, Rainbow Drive. Theft (25 October 2010, 11:04)
Two suspects gained entry by attempting to open the entrance door. Resident saw the suspects and shouted. The suspects fled the scene with a mountain bike from the yard area.
    
Alverstone, District Road. Theft out of Motor Vehicle (23 October 2010, 11:29)
Suspects broke front passenger window of silver grey Pajero which was parked on the driveway. A GPS navigator and charger was stolen.

SUCCESSES

Crestholme, Park Drive. Housebreaking - Residential (23 October 2010, 13:06)
Suspects gained entry by forcing open garage roller door. One suspect was apprehended. A chainsaw was recovered in the driveway area.
   
Woodlands, Doddington Crescent. Housebreaking - Residential (25 October 2010, 03:25)
Suspects broke garage roller shutter lock, gaining entry. The alarm activated and suspects fled the scene. Nothing was reported stolen.
    
Durban, Commercial Road. Housebreaking - Business (26 October 2010, 01:44)
Suspect damaged front electric fence. Suspect then climbed onto the roof and removed roof tiles. Suspect was apprehended by Blue Security Reaction Officer in the yard while he was trying to climb off the rooftop. Suspect was in possession of a knife, cigarette lighters and batteries.
    
Bayhead, Kobe Road. Attempted Hijacking (23 October 2010, 04:26)
Two black male suspects were dropped off by a white colt bakkie. Suspects were attempting to hijack a delivery vehicle. Suspects were apprehended.

Amanzimtoti, Beach Road. Theft (25 October 2010, 13:17)
Complainant’s grandchildren were playing on the beach when they noticed 4 suspects steal their bag. One suspect was apprehended.

Attempted theft where nothing was confirmed stolen:

Ashley, Lindsay Drive (25 October 2010, 01:30)
Durban Central, Commercial Road (24 October 2010, 13:15)
Durban North, Rosehill Avenue (24 October 2010, 16:07)
Glenashley, Hudson Place (23 October 2010, 19:27)
Glenwood, Chelmsford Road (25 October 2010, 03:47)
Mobeni, Swinton Road (25 October 2010, 05:27)
Morningside, Poplar Road (23 October 2010, 19:18)
Morningside, Stamfordhill Road (24 October 2010, 02:00)
Morningside, 10th Avenue (24 October 2010, 06:24)
Morningside, Florida Road (25 October 2010, 04:23)
New Germany, Shepstone Road (25 October 2010, 07:59)
Pinetown, Caversham Road (24 October 2010, 19:44)
Seaview, South End Avenue (24 October 2010, 11:57)
Umbilo, Leighton Place (23 October 2010, 13:42)
Westville, Lea drive (23 October 2010, 16:07)