When I climbed on my bike this morning I noticed something odd and took a few seconds to realise that both my mirrors have been stolen overnight. This is in Howe Street. The Bike is a Kawasaki KLR 650 but I imagine those mirrors could fit a whole range of bikes.
So please be on the lookout for any dodgy character trying to sell two mirrors. The mirrors cost R300 each - so the value of the loss is R600 plus time and effort to go and fetch them from the dealer in town. I have called Woodstock Police Station and reported the crime and requested a vehicle be dispatched to my work to take my statement. Call was made at 10:15. I shall follow up with a report on the process. I have vowed not to go to that police station again because the service I have received there in the past has been less than stellar. I have always found the police to be more efficient away from the police station. And this way I don't get to take up an hour of my time going to the station. Well at 10:26 Constables Singesi and Mpengesi arrived - 11 minutes after I made the call - impressive - while I was typing this email! I showed them the bike they asked what happened. They asked me to write down my details. Both worked at completing the quite voluminous amount of paper work for a seemingly trivial issue and within in 30 minutes of placing the call the statement was taken and the Constables were on their way. If I have one slight issue (a bit of de ja vu), as I was talking about one of the forms that I had to sign last night. It is a form that has a whole bunch of yes/no checkboxes. I suppose the Constables should really have explained that to me and asked the questions anc checked them off. Instead I was presented with a prechecked form to sign. I knew what it was about but I did ask what I was signing (and shouldn't everyone?) and then they explained it was about getting the case number and that I was not traumatized and did not need counseling etc.Once I asked what it ws they gave an adequate explanation - but I am sure a lot of people don't ask. Also this was obviously a small crime where I guess they assumed I did not need any of the assistance the form was offering. The final step in the process is to receive and SMS with the case number. They assured me within 32 hours. I will report back on the efficiency of this step. I won't be following up on the actual investigation - I'll leave this case to the discretion of the detectives. This was more an exercise in crime reporting and a possible insurance claim (the excess might well be more than the claim.) I have to say I am super impressed with the service I have received to day. I am forwarding this email to the SAPS, CPF & ONW as well. Trevor Hughes -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. To post to this group, send email to obsnw@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to obsnw+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en.
