While on my first car patrol last night I had the unusual experience of preventing the theft of my own Mazda! My partner and I noticed a car parked just in front of mine and two people standing on the pavement. We doubled back, drove up Scott and parked a little lower down to observe. The two men saw us and strolled down the road towards us. Frank rolled down his window and questioned them. They claimed to be looking for a friend in a house in Dove Street. We gave directions but instead of following them they turned the other way (up Polo) and drove off. Ten minutes later (just before midnight) I tried to drive my car into my off-street parking, only to discover that it had been broken into (front door lock and ignition both damaged, steering wheel locked, car undriveable). What prevented the theft was either our arrival or the gear lever lock (not easily visible). Lessons learned: (1) Don't leave your car in the street if you can help it. (Ironically my car was there because I thought it might be needed for the patrol!) (2) Car thieves may not fit your stereotype. These were two well-spoken, very plausible young coloured men (mid- twenties) - with a friendly manner. (3) It's difficult to know when to radio in and report suspicious behavior and ask for back-up. If we'd done this initially we might have arrested two car thieves in the act. (4) Alertness is not enough. Frank will confirm that several times during the patrol I (semi-jokingly) asked him to drive up Scott Road so that I could see 'if my car was still there'. Thanks to the police and Insp. Nel for their alertness and helpfulness. They also came to the assistance of a man in Wesley Rd who had the rear wheel stolen off this black Golf (parked in the street outside his house). They also arrested someone for possession of drugs (in Arnold St.). And they called me out just after midnight to identify three suspected car thieves they had arrested in Polo Road. They weren't the same car thieves, unfortunately! The experience did demonstrate that patrols by car at night do work. It is one way of keeping our neighbourhood safer. N.B. The first two hours were very uneventful. Rob --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
