Please take care in the subways - see the Rosebank incident below,
David David Raphael 072 065 7223 Chairperson OBS NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH Dear Rosebank Residents It was with shock, anger and total disbelief that I received a copy of a letter sent to Metrorail, by the father of the UCT student (living in Smith Rd) mugged yesterday afternoon at approx 3:55 pm (Thursday)in the subway at Rosebank Station. To make matters worse, it was the resident who, together with his wife, was attacked by knife wielding men, while visiting friends in Sybrand Park in January. (Newsflash 14) It is a 2 page letter, but I shall summarise the main details. (If anyone would like the full letter - please email me) 1. As our residents know, we encourage people needing to get under the railway line, to use the subway at Rosebank Station. (Metrorail property). The Alma Rd subway has a "dog-leg", which impairs visibility. The station has security personnel on the platforms. 2. The student entered the subway on his way home, carrying his bike. Inconvenient, as there are stairs at both ends. A man passed him. When he got to the other side, another man was leaning against a wall at the top of the stairs - about 4 metres from where a Metro Security Guard sat - out of sight. 3. This man approached the student, warning him to be quiet and to hand over his wallet and cellphone. The first man doubled back and held a knife to the student's back. Thinking that he has left both at home, he told them so, but one of the men rifled through his pockets and found his Ipod which he took He instructed the student to leave without calling for help. 4. The two men exited on the Main Rd side, where other people were entering. They started running, pushing people aside, who then screamed and raised the alarm. 5. In the confusion, one of the men was caught by security and taken to a room at the station. He was not handcuffed, (although they had handcuffs) nor was he checked for weapons. The student was asked to identify him, which he did - positively. 6. The culprit was left in the (unlocked) room, while security stood on the platform. He then burst out of the room, lunging with a knife and warned everyone to stand back. The student was a few metres away, so had to endure a 2nd traumatic event in the space of a few minutes. The culprit ran down the station towards Mowbray and escaped through a hole in the fence. 7. The student discovered that he did indeed have his phone on him and called his father who arrived within a few minutes. No effort had been made to call the police. Insisting that someone be called - Security called a Metro Official from the ticket office - they do not seem to have phones of their own. The response of this official is the following: "Are you sure you want to call the police - they will take a long time to come you know" 8, The father then called the Sector Van himself. And so, because of the total incompetence of Metro Security, 45 minutes elapsed between the incident and SAPS arrival. 9. Before going to Rondebosch SAPS to make a statement, (Rosebank Station falls under Rondebosch), the father phoned Metro Rail to lay a complaint, only to be told that the complaint could only be passed on to security the following day, because it was after 5pm. 10. Metro Rail received a letter today with serious questions being asked about their security personnel, their training, survellailance of subways, protocol in recording of incidents etc. 12. The Marketing and Communications Manager reponded today, offering assurance that this incident would be taken very seriously and "that an immediated investigation" has been ordered. 11.Copies of the letter to Metrorail have also been forwarded to Owen Kinahan, SAPS Mowbray, UCT Security and the RMCA. In conclusion he writes: "With just over 30 days to go to the World Cup one would imagine that Metro Rail security would be efficient and tight. The levels of preparedness exhibited this afternoon can only be described as pathetic. For me the handling of this incident highlights the continuing lack of urgency and real commitment to actively securing public safety. Should I regard the mugging of my son as just another contribution to the crime statistics and be thankful that he was not stabbed? Should I be 'patriotic' and keep quiet because we do not want to worry our visitors? I think not. And I doubt that there is a single South African parent out there who does not share my anger and frustration in this regard. We must continue to speak up in the hope that someone will listen and take effective action to keep our visitors and our children safe. " We are going to put a lot of effort into trying to find solutions for this ongoing problem. Unfortunately, the area in the immediate vicinity of the station is not part of a watch - it falls out of the area of the Liesbeek Neighbourhood Watch. Any suggestions, as always, will be welcome. regards Gill Lanham * Please report ALL security incidents within the Rosebank Neighbourhood Watch area to Gill Lanham at [email protected] or tel. 021 689 9258 even if the incident has already been reported to the police and/or ADT. This is the only way we can keep everyone up to date with what is happening in our community. -- 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
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