Public safety officers from Hermanus Public Protection (HPP) helped in several apprehensions during the month of February. HPP operates in partnership with Fidelity ADT.
The first incident (on Monday 27 February after 10pm) saw two suspects being detained for being in possession of suspected stolen property.
“The CCTV team at HPP spotted the men walking down Royal Street. When they were stopped and search several items were found in their possession, such as a printer, a hand drill, and alcohol. The men could not provide a plausible explanation as to how they came to have these items in their possession and they were handed over to the police for further investigation,” says Marius Boshoff, Hermanus branch manager for Fidelity ADT.
In a second incident (on Sunday night at around 18h47) a suspect was detained after he was identified by CCTV camera operators entering into the Industrial area and breaking a window of one of the buildings. The camera operators alerted the HPP Specialised Response Units as well as Fidelity ADT Response Officers in the area. The suspect was quickly located and detained, before he was handed over to the police on a charge of malicious damage to property.
Boshoff says in yet another incident, one man was detained after he was spotted by CCTV camera operators walking down Stemmet Street (just after midnight on Monday 13 February) with what appeared to be a lawnmower. Officers managed to detain the suspect and he was charged with possession of suspected stolen property, while the lawnmower was recovered.
“A phone call to HPP early on Sunday 12 February alerted them to a burglary in progress at an address on Church Street. Officers from several security and law enforcement partner agencies were dispatched and a suspect was detained just outside the house. He was arrested and charged with housebreaking,” says Boshoff.
There were happier incidents too during the month.
“I am proud of one of the HPP officers who showed kindness when he saw a homeless person taking shelter from the inclement weather. He promptly went to a local second hand charity shop to buy the man warm clothing. The same officer also came to the aid of a woman who had fallen at Langbaai. She refused medical assistance and the officer waited with her until her husband arrived,” says Boshoff.
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.
