AfriForum's Delmas Valke Neighbourhood Watch assisted the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the arrest of two suspected vehicle hijackers following a joint operation near Delmas earlier this month.
According to AfriForum, members of the neighbourhood watch were conducting a routine patrol with CAM FX Security along the N12 on Wednesday, 8 July, when they responded after learning that SAPS' rapid response unit had confronted a suspect linked to a vehicle hijacking at a local filling station. Information obtained from the suspect led police to a hijacked heavy motor vehicle that was located a short distance away.
AfriForum said two additional suspects who had been with the hijacked truck fled the scene on foot. SAPS requested assistance from the neighbourhood watch, whose members used night vision equipment to locate the fleeing suspects as they made their way along the N12 towards Botleng. Working alongside the police, the team managed to apprehend one of the suspects, while the second escaped through nearby private properties and was not immediately located.
Carel Botha, leader of AfriForum's Delmas Valke Neighbourhood Watch, said the operation demonstrated the value of cooperation between community safety structures and law enforcement. He said neither the police nor neighbourhood watches could win the fight against crime alone, but that working together made successful operations possible.