THE Hawks have warned the public to be careful around crash-in-transit crime scenes.
This comes after videos showing members of the public contaminating crime scenes while looting did the rounds on social media.
Mpumalanga Hawks spokeswoman Captain Dineo Sekgotodi said they were appealing to the public not to engage in criminality. She said when a crime was being committed, it was the responsibility of the community to report it to the police by immediately calling CrimeStop on 08600 10111 or their nearest police station.
“Cash-in-transit heist crime scenes can often be very dangerous, particularly when explosives are used. In some instances, it is possible that not all explosives were detonated at the time when the robbery was committed. This, therefore, poses a risk for the detonator to explode in the presence of looters. Furthermore, when a robbery is committed, the area becomes a crime scene and those looting often contaminate the crime scene, which is in itself a crime,” she said.
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Sekgotodi said communities were requested not to enter crime scenes, but rather to support the police by joining hands in fighting crime.
“Together, we can do more,” she said.
