Kate Lorimer

Make this police station trend and famous. I do not know who is the original poster. Just had one of the most appalling encounters with the South African Police Service at the Sandton station. My daughter was mugged at knifepoint on her way to varsity. They took her bag, her devices, her cards, everything. Her devices keep pinging online. I can see the exact location: an address in Hillbrow. So we rush to the station to report the crime and ask for help. We explain that we want to open a case, and that we can literally see where the stolen items are. Can they assist? The officer says no. She actually laughs at the idea of sending a patrol car to the address and tells me I can’t seriously expect the police to knock on doors looking for my property. What they can do, apparently, is give us a case number for insurance but even that requires serial numbers and the phone’s IMEI. Without paperwork, nothing moves. So according to the police: before you seek help at a police station near you, rush home, gather your documents, and only then present yourself at the police station. We’re back home now. Without a case number but a form we need to return only once we’ve unearthed all the paperwork for the stolen items. Only then will they register a case number apparently. My child is shaken to her core; I’ve had to give her something to calm her down. And we still need to drive back to the station just to get a case number. Meanwhile, the devices are still showing at No. 3 Soper Avenue, Hillbrow. But our mighty men and women in blue won’t go near it.