Hermanus welcomed a brand new female armed response officer this month. And she managed to secure an arrest on day two of her time in town, which also happened to be the second day of Women’s Month.
“I cannot imagine a better and perhaps more appropriate way to start this important month on the South African calendar,” says Marius Boshoff, Hermanus branch manager for Fidelity ADT.
The incident started at a parking area close to the cliff paths, where a foot patrol officer with Hermanus Public Protection (HPP) noticed a parked car with a smashed window (on Tuesday 2 August 2022 at around 14h55). While he was standing next to the car, he met a couple of tourists from Austria who explained this was their car and they had just parked there about ten minutes earlier. They confirmed that several items inside the car was now missing.
“The HPP officer contacted the CCTV monitoring centre team and asked that they check local cameras for any footage of suspicious behaviour close to the car. The monitoring centre team soon found footage of an unidentified person loitering around the car, and a description of this person was shared with officers in the area,” says Boshoff.
A short while later, a person matching the description was spotted close to Northcliff. A specialized response unit from HPP was close to the area, and they responded to investigate. One of the officers who was allocated to the vehicle was Zintle Qumbelo. This was her second day on duty and coincidentally also the second day of Women’s Month.
“The officers located the person and stopped to search him. This led to the discovery of several items that had been earlier reported as stolen along with a large sum of cash. The suspect was detained and taken to Hermanus SAPS.”
Boshoff says the tourists were informed that their items had been recovered. A case of theft out of a motor vehicle was opened against the suspect.
“Well done to officer Qumbelo and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with her as part of the team that keeps Hermanus safe.”
Hermanus Public Protection (HPP) is a non-profit company (NPC), established to provide public safety and top-up cleansing services in a geographical designated area of Hermanus, Western Cape. It is funded by the ratepayers through the Overstrand Municipality Special Rating Area By-law and Policy. Visit https://hpp.org.za/ for more info.
