Be Alert of daylight crimes!  

Rustenburg – While some of us might feel more at ease during the hours of daylight, it is wise not to get comfortable under the false sense of safety with the notion that crimes more frequently occur after sunset. 

Useful tips

• If your power goes off during the day without reason, don’t immediately go outside to inspect your power box; try to get help from outside and/or inspect with another person.
• If you notice that a tap is running in your yard, don’t inspect without caution—taps don’t open by themselves. 
• If someone claims to be injured or calls for help at your gate, don’t open access. Instead, contact the necessary emergency services such as SAPS or an ambulance.
• If a police vehicle arrives at your premises for no apparent reason, do not be overly trusting. Contact SAPS to confirm the vehicle’s details. 
• Don’t rush to the scene if your car’s alarm goes off. Try and inspect the situation from a safe distance and alert authorities if you witness attempted theft. Sounding a car’s alarm is a clever tactic used by culprits to get you into a closer proximity with them—making theft easier. 
• Be vigilant of strangers who frequently linger close to your premises for long periods of time. One incident reported a motorist who was allegedly ‘working on his car’ outside a premises. It is suspected that he was keeping watch over the premises/assessing the occupants by pretending to fix something on his car’s engine. As soon as assistance was offered, the motorist made a ‘quick fix’ and drove off. 
• Equip yourself with all emergency numbers, including your local policing forum. 
• If your kids are walking home from school, or are being dropped off at a public location, try and arrange for them to travel with a friend, and collect them from their drop off spot as soon as possible. 
• Educate your children not to linger and not to occupy themselves on their cellphones while walking home, as this makes them easy targets.