Motorists traveling on Prince George Drive towards Muizenberg have been warned to be on the look-out for groups of teenage boys who stop vehicles by pressing a pedestrian traffic light, and then pounce.
There have been at least two such attacks in the past fortnight at the light just beyond the Military Road intersection.
The youths either try to force the passenger door open or smash a window with a brick.
The perpetrators often escape via a narrow alleyway which leads into Seawinds and the informal areas of Vrygrond and Overcome Heights. The alley has become a hotspot for crime, with elderly people who have just collected their pensions regularly mugged there.
The Military Road intersection itself is notorious for hijackings, and even police on occasion have been robbed there.
Clive Jacobs, acting chairman of the Lavender Hill/ Retreat Community Policing Forum, said he’d recently witnessed an incident where a woman traveling alone was targeted by a group of 14- to 16-year-olds.
Jacobs had been jogging around 6pm and had run past about 10 boys hanging around near Seawinds.
Hearing a commotion he looked back to see them hurling stones at the woman’s vehicle. The woman looked terrified and sped off.
“A lot of tourists and beachgoers use this road and are coming under attack.
I’m not sure if it’s a racist attack, or just a new hobby.”
Jacobs said the nearby alley was also a popular shortcut for thieves who targeted pensioners on pay-out days.
“Last year I had a lot of complaints from women collecting their pensions or disability grants who were targeted here.”
Mary-Ann Barron of Seawinds, who uses the alleyway to get to the shops, said there had been a number of robberies in the area.
“It’s scary walking here because there is no security.”
Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Billy Jones said a case of malicious damage to property was being investigated by the Muizenberg Police after an incident last Friday.
A man reported that a stone had been thrown at his Mazda Rustler bakkie near the Military Road intersection, damaging the left passenger window.
Ward councilor Demetri Qually said the alley into Seawinds had been a problem for some time and the city might now consider closing it.
“A lot of people use it as a short-cut to get home but we know it provides a rapid escape route for criminals.”
Steenberg police spokesperson Inspector Hermanus van Dyk warned motorists about the risks and urged them not to leave valuables on their front seats.
He said the youngsters usually struck in groups to distract the motorist.
a.. This article was originally published on page 5 of Cape Argus on January 17, 2009