GAUTENG – A suspect was apprehended with the help of the community of Ext 4 in Kwa Thema on Thursday morning. The suspect was found red-handed inside Nkumbulo High School premises.
The suspect was found in possession of stolen items that include appliances, kitchen utensils, cleaning material, taps, electrical cords, blanket and some groceries.
In another incident, police in Pretoria West responded swiftly on Saturday after receiving information about a burglary in progress at Lotus Gardens Secondary School. One suspect was arrested inside the school. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect gained entry through the roof whereby tiles were removed and ceiling damaged.
Cases of business breaking have been opened for investigation.
Gauteng police have now arrested one hundred and thirty (130) suspects for cases related to burglary, vandalism and torching of schools since March, this year. Several items taken from the schools during the burglaries were recovered.
After experiencing an increase in the number of schools broken into, the Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lieutenant General Elias Mawela, appointed a team consisting of different police units to look into the matter. He also called for the community to report any suspicious criminal activities inside the schools.
The collaboration between the police and the community has since yielded positive results as most of the suspects were arrested following a tip-off from community members.
The latest breakdown of the arrests per district are as follows:
Johannesburg (Including Soweto) = 42
Tshwane = 41
Sedibeng = 11
Ekurhuleni = 25
West Rand = 11

Source: South African Police Service