A Gate, a Garage, a Split Second: What This Week’s Incidents Tell Us

An open driveway gate. An unprotected garage. Copper piping within reach. Details like these feature in this week’s incident reports — and give residents practical places to start when checking their own security.

Atlas Security recorded 91 incidents between 21 and 27 September, seven more than the previous week’s 84. That represents an 8.3% increase across our operational footprint.

The biggest changes came in attempted burglaries and vehicle accidents or incidents. Completed burglaries and several robbery categories declined, showing why the detail matters as much as the headline total.

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Property security deserves a closer look

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Theft remained the largest category, with 29 incidents. Together, theft, attempted theft, burglary and attempted burglary accounted for 63 incidents, approximately 69% of the week’s total, compared with 56 the week before.

Attempted burglaries rose from four to 13, while burglaries fell from 12 to nine. The increase in attempts makes this a useful time to check doors, windows, garages and outbuildings, including whether these spaces are covered by the alarm system.

Individual reports illustrate the value of those checks. In Levyvale, suspects entered through an open driveway gate before taking scaffolding. Atlas Security armed response officers recovered the stolen items and apprehended one suspect. In Walmer, an officer apprehended a suspect emerging from a garage; the report noted that the garage had no alarm protection.

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Where incidents were recorded

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Summerstrand recorded the highest total, with eight incidents, unchanged from the previous week. Walmer followed with six, down from 10.

Gqeberha Central, Overbaakens and Bothasrus each recorded four incidents, completing the five areas with the highest totals. These are counts of all recorded incident types, including emergencies.

At the lower end, areas recording one incident included Broadwood, Cotswold, Fairview, Greenacres, Humewood, Kensington, Mangold Park, Mount Pleasant and Parsons Vlei. These figures describe Atlas Security’s recorded activity; they do not establish which neighbourhoods are safest.

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A broader week of response

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Vehicle accidents or incidents increased from four to 11. Teams also recorded eight medical emergencies, three fires and two vehicle recoveries.

Thursday, 24 September, was the busiest date in the reporting period, with 18 incidents. Although the week included Heritage Day, these figures alone cannot establish whether the holiday caused the increase.

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Give your property a five-minute check

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Walk the route someone would take from your boundary to your back door. Check that gates close securely, garage and outbuilding doors lock properly, and accessible valuables are put away. Arrange to test your alarm with your security provider and check that its coverage still matches how you use your property.

Report suspicious activity promptly. Atlas Security clients can use the Atlas Security App’s panic function when immediate assistance is required, or contact our Control Room on 0861 585 585.

These figures reflect incidents recorded by Atlas Security, including non-crime emergencies. They are not the complete crime statistics for Nelson Mandela Bay.

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